Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM) and Rosneft, Russia’s largest state energy company, have held secret talks about resuming work on the massive Sakhalin project in the Russian Far East if governments approve it as part of a Ukraine peace deal, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.
Only a few people at Exxon (NYSE:XOM) knew about the talks; one of the company’s top executives, Senior VP Neil Chapman, led the talks on the Exxon side, meeting Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin – a close ally of President Putin – in the Qatari capital Doha, according to the report.
The first round of negotiations reportedly took place shortly after Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) exit from Russia in 2022.
WSJ also reported that Exxon (XOM) executives received a sympathetic hearing when they asked for U.S. government support if the company returns to Russia, according to a senior administration official, and CEO Darren Woods discussed Exxon’s possible return with President Trump at the White House in recent weeks.
The Sakhalin-1 project was one of Exxon’s (XOM) biggest investments, operating the venture and owning 30% alongside Rosneft as well as Japanese and Indian companies, which are still working at the site.