Darren Woods, the CEO of ExxonMobil, has denied that the oil major has any plans to resume operations in Russia.
Like many international oil companies, Exxon pulled out of Russia following the country’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. In particular, ExxonMobil held a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 development, a giant oil and gas project in the far east of Russia. The Russian Government later seized control of this, triggering the oil company to file an arbitration case.
Speaking to the Financial Times in an interview, Woods said there had been discussions with Russia, but not about investing in the country. He said the talks had been ongoing since 2023 and were about resolving the arbitration about its $4.6 billion in expropriated assets:
“We don’t have any plans to re-enter Russia. This was really around settlement discussions around the arbitration associated with the expropriation of our assets in 2022.”
Western oil companies like ExxonMobil, the maker of the Mobil SHC gear oil, could bring technology and expertise to help Russia develop its resources. Despite the US Administration reportedly promoting economic cooperation as an incentive for engaging in a peace process, analysts believe companies will be hesitant after writing off huge sums just a few years ago. As Tatiana Mitrova, an expert in energy policy, put it:
“The geopolitical and country risks remain extremely high, while Exxon has many more attractive opportunities for capital allocation globally.”
Woods also criticised the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive of the European Union, saying it would trigger the company’s departure from the trading bloc.
