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There are certainly oilfields under the sea floor off the coast of Sakhalin, that are being actively exploited. This map shows their locations: https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Map-of-Sakhalin-Island-showing-offshore-oil-and-gas-blocks-and-study-locations-Okha_fig1_248393621

But one thing that jumps out at me about that map is that it seems to also be showing some oilfields on the island itself.

If that is the case, would those not be easier to reach than the offshore ones, therefore exploited first? Yet I cannot find any mention of that in e.g. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakhalin-I

Am I misreading the map, is there some other difficulty, or have onshore oil fields indeed been exploited?

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    $\begingroup$ If the onshore deposits exist they may be too small to be exploited or they may have high levels of contaminants such as sulfur. $\endgroup$
    – Fred
    Jul 27, 2022 at 18:05
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    $\begingroup$ The same latitude as Ireland, but exposed to the cold siberian winds. According to the map there are no roads, I suspect it is frozen in winter, muddy in summer. Probably it is easier to put a rig in the sea, carrying the equipment by boat, than drill on land. I don't have a bathimetric map, but it seems that the fields are in shallow waters. $\endgroup$
    – FluidCode
    Jul 27, 2022 at 21:50
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    $\begingroup$ Having had a look at Sakhalin Island via Google Earth & Open Street Map, it appears to have extensive forest cover, many rivers & rugged terrain. Such terrain would be challenging to exploit for oil. $\endgroup$
    – Fred
    Jul 28, 2022 at 2:41
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    $\begingroup$ @FluidCode Russia has plenty of mining of fossil fuels and other resources in very remote inhospitable climates on land, so I don't think that is the reason. $\endgroup$
    – gerrit ♦
    Jul 28, 2022 at 7:37
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    $\begingroup$ Why not embed the image and provide a link to the original? Eventually, all links will be broken. $\endgroup$
    – Rodrigo de Azevedo
    Jul 28, 2022 at 21:43

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Onshore oil deposits, on the island of Sakhalin have existed. The were discovered in 1928 by a Russian-Japanese venture. Oil production from onshore deposits began in 1930.

There has been oil production on the island of Sakhalin in Russia’s Far East, since 1928, when a joint Russian–Japanese venture discovered oil onshore, and the local oil company Sakhalinmorneftegaz (SMNG) has been producing onshore since the 1930s.

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