Despite Sanctions Fight, ExxonMobil Begins Russia Oil Project

Luckily for America’s most powerful company in the world’s most important economic sector has not been hit by sanction shrapnel in the war of words flying from Moscow to Kiev, Brussels and Washington. U.S. oil giant ExxonMobil and its Russian partner Rosneft started drilling for oil together in the Arctic this weekend.

Best friends forever.

Or so both sides hope.

U.S. sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine have not impacted Russian and U.S. oil companies just yet, but there have been shots fired across the bow of Russia’s flagship enterprise: energy. For instance, the U.S. banned sharing technology used in fracking. The E.U. has banned the sale of components used in exploration and production machinery.  Financing of Russian oil and gas projects in Crimea, the peninsula once owned by Ukraine and recently annexed by Russia, is also off limits.

But ExxonMobil and Rosneft have been trying to get this project off the ground for over a year now.

Read the full article on Forbes.com.