Exxon declares force majeure at Russia’s Sakhalin-1 project (NYSE:XOM)

Exxon Mobil’s (NYSE:XOM) Russian unit Exxon Meftegas declared force majeure on its operations at the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in the country’s far east, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

Project stakeholders reportedly are having difficulty chartering tankers to ship oil out of a region that generally needs ice vessels to navigate the journey.

Sakhalin-1 exports Sokol grade crude oil from the De-Kastri terminal, rising to 228K bbl/day in March, mostly to South Korea and to other destinations including Japan, Australia, Thailand and the U.S.

Exxon (XOM) reiterated it is taking steps to exit its 30% stake in Sakhalin-1 and discontinue all Russia operations in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Exxon (XOM) on March 1 announced its decision to withdraw from its Russian operations, which total ~$4B in assets including Sakhalin-1.