WASHINGTON, Oct 18 — US oil company ExxonMobil has officially left Russia months after Moscow terminated its interests in the country, which included the Sakhalin-1 project, company spokesperson Meghan Macdonald told Sputnik.
“I can confirm that we have safely exited Russia following the expropriation,” Macdonald said yesterday. “With two decrees, the Russian government has unilaterally terminated our interests in Sakhalin-1 and the project has been transferred to a Russian operator.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on August 5 that specifically bans the sale of foreign shares in strategic Russian companies, primarily in the energy sector, unless authorised by the Russian government.
Exxon owned 30 per cent of shares in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project. In March, the company announced its intention to withdraw from the project and declared force majeure in April, significantly reducing oil and gas production in the project.
On August 3, ExxonMobil announced that it was planning to transfer its operating activities on the project to another, undisclosed legal entity. Other Sakhalin-1 project’s shareholders are Japan’s Sodeco with 30 per cent, India’s ONGC with 20 per cent, and Russia’s Rosneft with 20 per cent. — Bernama
