Russian President Vladimir Putin attended the signing ceremony in Moscow and indicated that environmental issues had been resolved.

On 30 June 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ordering the transfer of the Sakhalin-2 project to a new domestic operator.

[11] The two fields contain an estimated 1,200 million barrels (190×10^6 m3) of crude oil and 500 billion cubic meters (18 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas; 9.6 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year and about 180,000 barrels per day (29,000 m3/d) of oil will be produced.

[citation needed] The total project cost until 2014 was originally estimated by Royal Dutch Shell to be between US$9 and $11 billion.

[13] The PA-B platform was installed in July 2007 in the Piltun area of the Piltun-Astokhskoye oil field, 12 kilometres (7.5 mi) offshore.

[14] The onshore processing facility is located in the north-east of Sakhalin Island, 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) inland in Nogliki district.

[15] The TransSakhalin pipeline system is designed for transportation of hydrocarbons from the Piltun-Astokhskoye and Lunskoye fields in the North of Sakhalin Island to the onshore processing facility in the Nogliki district and to the LNG plant and the oil export terminal in Aniva Bay.

[18] A special gas liquefaction process was developed by Shell for use in cold climates such as Sakhalin, based on the use of a double mixed refrigerant.

In July 2005, a Russian court upheld the appeal of environmentalists who claimed in a petition that Sakhalin Energy's environmental impact assessment, was inadequate.

[29] The environmental and social concerns came to a head at the end of November 2005 when the chief executive of WWF, Robert Napier, said that it would have a "negative impact on Sakhalin's people and environment".

[citation needed] The WWF asserted that Sakhalin-2 threatens marine life as well as potentially damaging the local communities in the region.

Sakhalin Energy responded to the WWF's assertion by saying that the project meets lenders' policies and that environmental and social issues have been met.

Oleg Mitvol, the deputy chief of the Russian Federal Service for Natural Resources, had announced in early August 2006 that, according to his data, Sakhalin Energy failed to take all actions required to eliminate the danger of the mud flow.

The company exercises industrial environmental control in the following areas: – air emissions; – water use and discharge; – waste management.

For more details see Sustainable Development Report One key concern from environmental groups is that the Sakhalin-2 project will harm the western gray whale population.

Its members are marine scientists who give independent advice to Sakhalin Energy about managing any potential risks to the western gray whales.

[35] The Russian Academy of Sciences has identified an increasing population of western gray whales in the Sea of Okhotsk during a photo identification research programme.

[36] However, in February 2009 the WGWAP issued an urgent warning that the number of western gray whales observed in the primary (near shore) feeding area had decreased and the panel called for a "...moratorium on all industrial activities, both maritime and terrestrial, that have the potential to disturb gray whales in summer and autumn on and near their main feeding areas.

[38] The Far Eastern Regional Hydrometeorological Research Institute is involved in regular monitoring of the western gray whales near the oil and gas developments on the Sakhalin Shelf.

The company's protection of the western gray whale population was recognised in the Environmental Efficiency of Economics category.

It shows that the distribution of whales in feeding areas did not vary significantly during the whole period of the study; the number of individuals in the aggregation is increasing, and its reproduction rate is stable.

[44] Sakhalin Energy paid compensation of $110,000 to the Russian Federation to cover potential fish impacts from the Sakhalin-2 project.

In 2011, a new phase was launched under the programme, based on the basin-oriented approach to the study of ichthyofauna, including the Sakhalin taimen.

While preparing for work execution and during the construction, Sakhalin Energy conducted baseline studies and operational monitoring of all crossing areas of water bodies.

[citation needed] In 2017, the monitoring of hydrological and hydrochemical characteristics and condition of bottom sediments was implemented at 24 water bodies crossed by the pipelines, as well as in the area of potential impact from OPF at the Vatung River, and in the area of the Prigorodnoye production complex at the Mereya River and the Goluboy Brook.

On most investigated river-crossing sites (from the upstream to the downstream cross sections) no significant horizontal or vertical deformations of river beds were found.