“Russia” is recognized as an imporant investment opportunity by the international oil industry. One of the momentous events in the recent Russian oil industry is the adoption of the Law on the PSAs (PSL) in December 1995. In June 1996, the two PSAs for the Sakhalin-1 and Sakhalin-2 project became effective based on the grand-fathering clause in the adopted PSL. The opportunities to be pursued under the PSAs in the future, on the other hand, need the adoption of so-called Enabling Law. Further, the number of PSA projects will be restricted. The upstream investment opportunities in Russia, therefore, will be pursued in the from of PSA and conventional Joint Venture (JV). This paper discusses the recent developments of the Russian upstream industry from the view point of PSA and conventional JV.
