ExxonMobil is preparing its exit from Russia.
The largest US oil and gas company said on the evening of 1 March that it is halting operations at its Sakhalin-1 joint venture and will make no further investments in Russia.
The move is in response to the Russian invasion and subsequent sanctions that have placed pressure on Western countries to wind down their Russian businesses.
“ExxonMobil supports the people of Ukraine as they seek to defend their freedom and determine their own future as a nation. We deplore Russia’s military action that violates the territorial integrity of Ukraine and endangers its people," read an ExxonMobil statement.
The oil and gas company added that it supports the international response to the ongoing conflict and is “fully complying” with sanctions placed against Russia.
ExxonMobil has been involved in Russian oil and gas projects for a quarter of a century and is the operator of the Sakhalin-1 development with a 30% stake.
Other partners include Russia’s Rosneft (20%) along with Japan’s SODECO Consortium (30%) and India’s ONGC Videsh (20%). These partners are expected to meet in the next few weeks to decide which among them will assume operatorship of the project, according to Reuters.
ExxonMobil estimates the value of its share of the Sakhalin-1 project to be more than $4 billion. The project has been distinguished in part because it involved the drilling of some of the world’s longest extended-reach wells.
Located in Russia's Far East, the three fields that make up the Sakhalin-1 project produced a combined 230,000 B/D of oil and condensate in 2018. The development's estimated reserves are around 2.3 billion bbl of oil and 17.1 Tcf of gas.
The departure from Russia by ExxonMobil follows that of BP and Shellwhich announced days ago their own moves to divest and abandon projects in the country.
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