On Monday, the head of the Russian Audit Chamber laid out a disparaging report of the project, in which Shell previously held 55%, Japan’s Mitsui had 25% and Mitsubishi had 20%, before state-run gas monopoly Gazprom bought a controlling stake late last year.

The probe follows the revocation of environmental approval at the $20 billion project in September last year, when the joint venture was accused of causing serious environmental damage to Sakhalin island including deforestation, toxic waste dumping and soil erosion.

At the time, these accusations and permit revocation were speculated to be an attempt by the Russian Government to force the JV partners to sell their stakes.

Dow Jones Newswires yesterday quoted a spokesperson from the Russian Ministry of Natural Resources as saying their investigation into the total environmental damage done to the island should be completed in early March.

However, the news service reported that the spokesperson said he was unsure which factors were included in the Audit Chamber’s tally and that the number could include claims that were not directly related to the environment.

Located in Russia’s far east, the Sakhalin-2 LNG plant is proposed have a capacity of 9.6 million tonnes a year.

The plant is intended to supply customers in the United States, as well as Japan and other parts of Asia.

Sakhalin-2 already produces more than 70,000 barrels of oil per day for around half the year as part of Phase 1.