NYTimes: Exxon Mobil Moves Ahead With Russian Oil Drilling Project

Exxon Mobil, which is assisting a Russian state energy company in exploring the Arctic Ocean for oil and natural gas, took a pivotal step to further this project over the weekend.

A drilling rig to be operated by Exxon set sail from Norway on Saturday, two days after the downing of a passenger airliner in Ukraine led to mounting pressure in the United States and Europe for new sanctions against Russia. Those sanctions could target the country’s important energy industry.

For the Russian oil industry, much is riding on this summer’s prospecting mission to the Kara Sea, the body of water between the northern coast of European Russia and the Novaya Zemlya island chain. Russia depends on petroleum for about 60 percent of its export revenue, and for geopolitical clout, while on-land fields in Siberia are in decline.
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