The Wall Street Journal reported that according to sources, ExxonMobil has threatened to sue the Russian government unless it is allowed to exit the Sakhalin oil and gas project.
In a statement, the company said it has been attempting to exit the project, but a recent Presidential decree has prevented it from doing so.
In response to Western sanctions following the military action in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree preventing investors from “unfriendly states” from selling their interests in strategic enterprises, a classification which included the Sakhalin project.
In March Exxon announced it would pull out of all Russian ventures, liquidating about $4 billion in assets, including the Sakhalin-1 project, due to the sanctions laid on the Russian Republic.
Russian state energy giant Gazprom meanwhile has seen its stock surge 31% Wednesday, to 267.25 rubles per share (roughly US$4.43) after the company announced surging profits and huge dividend payments to shareholders.
The state energy company announced its board had recommended a dividend of 51.03 rubles per share (US$0.85) for the first half of 2022. It also announced it had made 2.5 trillion rubles (roughly $41.75 billion) in net profits in the first half – a record for the company.
Gazprom’s deputy chief executive Famil Sadygov said in a statement, “Despite sanctions pressure and an unfavorable external environment, the Gazprom Group reported record IFRS revenues and net profit in the first half of 2022, while reducing net debt and leverage to a minimum.”
Sadygov also noted the company will continue to follow its official dividend policy, whereby it will pay out at least 50% of adjusted net profits as dividends.
In June the board of directors had decided to forgo any dividends based on last year’s earnings, which was the first time it had not paid out a dividend since 1998.
