Sakhalin Energy, in which Shell has a controlling stake, is facing allegations that it is misleading potential funders of the world’s second most expensive infrastructure project. The company is apparently claiming to comply with environmental standards despite evidence to the contrary. A series of documents leaked to The Observer state that independent consultants monitoring the construction of a USD 20 billion gas and oil project on Sakhalin island, off the east coast of Russia, highlight numerous breaches of environmental protocol. But versions of the same reports on the website of Sakhalin Energy, the consortium behind the project, give the consortium a clean bill of health. The documents centre on how Shell contractors handle the construction of sensitive river crossings in areas where salmon spawn. The Sakhalin 2 gas and oil project, which will take liquefied natural gas from the island to the east coast of Russia and feed the energy-hungry markets of Japan and China, has been mired in controversy and its original USD 10 billion budget has doubled. The consortium was forced to change the route of a pipeline after campaigners said it would disturb 100 endangered grey whales.
