Exxon Mobil Corp said it will exit joint ventures with Russia’s Rosneft, citing US and European Union sanctions.
Exxon Mobil said in its annual report sent to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday that it had to start the procedure of quitting joint oil prospecting projects with Russia’s Rosneft. According to the document, the company will sustain net loss of $0.2 billion as a result.
An Exxon spokesman said that the exits do not affect Exxon’s Sakhalin project off the eastern coast of Russia, Reuters reported.
In 2012, Exxon and Rosneft detailed an exploration partnership with plans to invest as much as $500 billion in developing Russia’s Arctic and Black sea oil reserves. Further deals were signed in 2014.
The company said in a financial filing that it recorded an after-tax loss of $200 million over the withdrawal in its fourth quarter.
The US government had fined Exxon $2 million for signing the joint ventures just after sanctions were imposed in 2014, saying the company showed a “reckless disregard” for the sanctions. Exxon called the fine “capricious” and appealed it.
