The American company ExxonMobil "safely left the Russian market" after expropriating $4 billion of assets from it in accordance with the decree of Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is reported by Reuters with reference to representatives of the company.
The publication claims that ExxonMobil tried to the last to maintain its activities in Russia in accordance with Russian and international legislation, but it was not possible to find an understanding – all the assets of the American company were seized by the authorities.
“We have made every effort to engage with the Russian government and other stakeholders,” an Exxon spokesman said.
The last strategic asset of the American company in Russia was a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, which is critical for supplying the Far East – in particular, its gas provided electricity to Khabarovsk and Vladivostok. ExxonMobil has been trying to get rid of its stake in the project since March 2022, when the company was unable to operate under Western sanctions. This, in turn, led to an almost complete halt in production at the project – it fell by 22 times.
In August, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on "special measures in the financial and fuel and energy sectors in connection with the unfriendly actions of certain foreign states and international organizations." The document prohibits transactions in systemically important areas with shares of foreigners from "unfriendly countries", exceptions can only be approved by the president. In accordance with this decree, the Russian authorities seized all ExxonMobil assets in the country, which the company estimates at $4 billion.
The representative of the oil giant declined to comment on the prospects for litigation, but the publication claims that the company does not refuse such an option, since even before the expropriation, the company issued a “dispute document” – formally necessary for international arbitration between the co-owners of the energy project. At the same time, the company does not want to harm the project itself and continues consultations with project partners – Rosneft, the Indian ONGC Videsh and the Japanese SODECO.