Japanese trading houses Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. plan to retain their interests in the Sakhalin 2 oil and gas project and will notify Russia by the end of the month, Mitsubishi and sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The decision of the two companies to invest in the new operator, set up by Moscow to take control of the natural resources project in the Russian Far East, was made in light of Japan's aim to secure a stable supply of liquefied natural gas.

Mitsubishi said it had approved the plan "from a comprehensive perspective" at a board meeting Thursday.

The new operator, established on Aug. 5 under a decree by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has offered the same contractual terms to energy companies as those of the previous entity.

Shareholders in the previous operator of the project need to apply for stakes in the new entity by Sept. 4, with applications to be reviewed within three days of receipt.

Mitsui and Mitsubishi held 12.5 percent and 10 percent stakes in the previous operator, respectively.

The Sakhalin 2 project accounts for around 9 percent of resource-poor Japan's LNG imports and is viewed as important by Tokyo.

==Kyodo

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