© 2024 Connecticut Public

FCC Public Inspection Files:
WEDH · WEDN · WEDW · WEDY
WECS · WEDW-FM · WNPR · WPKT · WRLI-FM · WVOF
Public Files Contact · ATSC 3.0 FAQ
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

ExxonMobil joins business exodus from Russia after decades of close ties

American oil and gas giant ExxonMobil is ending its decades-long involvement in Russia, exiting a major oil and gas project off Russia's eastern coast and announcing it will not make new investments in the country.

The move comes as the global business community increasingly is moving to isolate Moscow over the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Energy giants are playing a conspicuous role in the trend as they respond to the ongoing invasion, the resulting sanctions, and mounting political pressure to distance themselves from the Russian government. Over the weekend, BP announced it was ending a partnership with Russian state-controlled oil giant Rosneft that's valued at some $25 billion. The Norwegian company Equinor followed suit, as did Shell.

Exxon has a long history of close ties to Russia — with the company's interests sometimes controversially diverging from U.S. foreign policy priorities. But Exxon's footprint in Russia had shrunk in recent years, thanks in large part to U.S. sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion of Crimea in 2014.

But Exxon had continued to manage the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, a technologically tricky operation that made tens of billions of dollars for the Russian government. Now Exxon says it is "beginning the process to discontinue operations and developing steps to exit the Sakhalin-1 venture." The future of the project beyond that is unclear.

Because it is the operator of the project, not just an investor, the company says the process "will need to be closely coordinated with the co-venturers in order to ensure it is executed safely."

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Corrected: March 2, 2022 at 12:00 AM EST
A previous version of this story had a photo depicting the Sakhalin II drilling project, rather than Sakhalin I. The image has been removed.
Camila Flamiano Domonoske covers cars, energy and the future of mobility for NPR's Business Desk.

Stand up for civility

This news story is funded in large part by Connecticut Public’s Members — listeners, viewers, and readers like you who value fact-based journalism and trustworthy information.

We hope their support inspires you to donate so that we can continue telling stories that inform, educate, and inspire you and your neighbors. As a community-supported public media service, Connecticut Public has relied on donor support for more than 50 years.

Your donation today will allow us to continue this work on your behalf. Give today at any amount and join the 50,000 members who are building a better—and more civil—Connecticut to live, work, and play.

Related Content