WP: Where do the latest U.S. sanctions leave Russian oil?

When it comes to bolstering its oil exploration and production, Russia has repeatedly turned to U.S. and other Western companies for help. More than a decade ago, when Russia wanted to halt the steep decline in many of its older oil fields, it brought in Britain's BP, which revived output.

When Russia’s oil giant Rosneft wanted to minimize the time needed for the construction of a certain kind of drilling well, it turned to the U.S. company Halliburton, which figured out how to shorten the time from 38 to 30 days and to reduce the cost of drilling fluids by 20 percent.

And when Rosneft needed expertise to explore for oil in Russia’s Arctic waters, it turned to Exxon Mobil, the U.S. oil and gas corporation. In February 2013, Exxon Mobil and Rosneft said they would explore 150 million acres of the Russian Arctic, including seven blocks in the Chukchi, Laptev and Kara seas. These blocks are among the most promising and least explored oil prospects in the world.
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