Exxon CEO Confirms No Plans to Return to Russia
Exxon CEO Darren Woods reiterated that the company has no plans to re-enter Russia, emphasizing that ongoing negotiations with Moscow concern only the return of $4.6 billion in expropriated assets.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to The Financial Times.
Darren Woods emphasized that negotiations with Russia concern only the return of $4.6 billion in assets expropriated by Moscow and do not include investments in the country.
The discussions began in early 2023 after Exxon filed an arbitration claim against the Russian government regarding the seizure of control over the company's 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 project in the Far East.
“We don't have any plans to re-enter Russia,” Woods emphasized. “This was really around settlement discussions around the arbitration associated with the expropriation of our assets in 2022.”
Meanwhile, Russian officials continue to express hope for ExxonMobil's possible return to the country. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said that negotiations between Putin's special representative for investments, Kirill Dmitriev, and US officials are continuing, in particular regarding participation in the Sakhalin-1 project.
Previous media reports indicated that Exxon had held talks on returning to Sakhalin-1 amid attempts by the Trump administration to reach a peace agreement in Ukraine.
Analysts, however, caution that geopolitical and country risks remain very high, and Western companies are hesitant to return after significant financial losses.
As Tatyana Mitrova of Columbia University notes, while restoring a stake in Sakhalin-1 may bring some additional revenue, “any expectation of fresh investments or new joint projects is far more problematic.”
As The Gaze reported earlier, representatives of the U.S. and Russian governments quietly discussed potential energy deals this month as part of efforts to advance peace talks over Ukraine.