"On October 1, the project will become operational, producing gas and oil," Sergei Bogdanchikov said.
"Investments in the project reached $4.5 billion," he added.
The Sakhalin I project is the most dynamic Rosneft project on the Sakhalin Island shelf in terms of development rates.
An agreement on Sakhalin I production sharing came into force in 1996.
A consortium of Sakhalin I investors includes Exxon Neftegas Ltd. (the operator) - 30%, Japanese Sodeco - 30%, Russian RN-Astra LLC - 8.5%, Russian Sakhalinmorneftegaz-Shelf - 11.5%, and Indian ONGC Videsh Ltd. company - 20% (joined the project in 2001 by purchasing part of the Russian participants' share). The estimated production capacity of the project is about 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17.1 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Sakhalin I is one of the largest projects in Russia with direct foreign investment.
