EXXON HOLDS LINE IN RUSSIA
The WSJ reports,"despite tensions between the West and Moscow over Ukraine, Western oil majors show no sign of pulling back on bets they’ve made in Russia in recent years.
Take ExxonMobil: As Daniel Gilbert writes, the U.S. giant is pushing ahead with plans to drill in the Arctic off Russia’s northern coast, in partnership with state-controlled Rosneft.
The Arctic is a key region for oil majors desperate to ensure their production keeps rising. Exxon reckons the prospect it is involved with there could contain 9 billion barrels of oil, equivalent to more than a third of the company’s current proven reserves.
The problem for oil majors has long been that maintaining growth has meant having to get involved in areas that are politically tricky. Exxon isn’t alone in having sought partnerships and investments in Russia in recent years: BP has gone so far as to take a near-20% stake in Rosneft. They will be hoping that the current crisis will blow over. But if it doesn’t, the safety of oil-industry bets on Russia will be questioned ever more closely".
