President Vladimir Putin has raised the stakes in an economic war with the West and its allies with a decree that seizes full control of the Sakhalin-2 gas and oil project in Russia’s far east, a move that could force out Shell and Japanese investors. The decree, signed on Thursday, creates a new firm to take over all rights and obligations of Sakhalin Energy Investment Co, in which Shell (SHEL.L) and two Japanese trading companies Mitsui and Mitsubishi hold just under 50%. read more The five-page decree, which follows Western sanctions imposed on Moscow over its invasion of Ukraine, indicates the Kremlin will now decide whether the foreign partners can stay. State-run Gazprom (GAZP.MM) already has a 50% plus one share stake in Sakhalin-2, which accounts for about 4% of the world’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) production. The move threatens to unsettle an already […]