Russia’s President Putin has signed a decree that could allow foreign investors, including Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM), to regain shares in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project, Reuters reported Friday.
The signing occurred on the same day that Putin met President Trump in Alaska to discuss a potential ceasefire in Ukraine, and possibly on opportunities for investment and business collaboration.
Exxon (NYSE:XOM) previously held a 30% operator share in the Sakhalin-1 project, and was the only non-Russian investor to have abandoned its stake after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022; the company took a $4.6B impairment charge to exit its Russian business.
Putin signed a decree in October 2022 that established Rosneft as Sakhalin-1’s new operator, allowing the Russian government to decide foreign investors’ ownership rights in the project; in December 2024, Putin signed another decree extending the sale period for Exxon’s (XOM) unclaimed stake until 2026.
Any path to Western investment returning to Russia is unclear given the U.S. and European Union would need to lift far-reaching sanctions to facilitate investment.