ExxonMobil plans to invest US$12b

ExxonMobil plans to invest US$12b

Associated Press, Moscow

ExxonMobil announced plans Monday for what it called the
largest single direct foreign investment in Russia to date, a
US$12 billion commitment to an oil project in the Russian Far
East.

The announcement of the investment in the Sakhalin-1 project
was made at the Foreign Investment Advisory Council, a gathering
of Russian government leaders and international executives aimed
at streamlining economic cooperation.

"I believe our announcement today will have a profound effect
on the future of investment into Russia and Russia's integration
into the world economy," said Neil Duffin, president of Exxon
Neftegas Limited, ExxonMobil's subsidiary operating the project.

Russia will reap enviable benefits off Sakhalin-1, with
royalties, taxes and oil export receipts bringing government
coffers $35 billion to $40 billion over the duration of the
project, Duffin said.

According to a company statement, world-class reserves of
Sakhalin-1 total 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 17 trillion cubic
feet of natural gas.

Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and the investment council
members concurred that the investment announcement indicates
further proof of stability of the Russian economy.

"Such an investor and such a large investment is a very
important political and economic signal to the world investment
community," Kasyanov commented.