The departure of Western firms from Russia leaves space for China
Russia hopes China can fill IOC gap
Moscow is attempting to deepen its close cooperation with Asian countries—in particular China—to minimise the impact of sanctions on its oil and gas sector
Majors such as ExxonMobil and BP abandoned their partnerships with Russia shortly after the Kremlin went to war in Ukraine. Following their departure, Moscow is looking to China as a potential replacement—at least partially—for the oil and gas sector technologies and investment that would previously have come from the West. Chinese NOCs may be the most likely partners for a number of significant projects that have lost Western investors, including the 25pc stake in state-controlled oil firm Rosneft abandoned by BP earlier this year, ExxonMobil’s former share in the Sakhalin-1 project and Norwegian state-controlled Equinor’s various joint venture stakes. Additionally, Austria’s OMV halted neg
Also in this section
11 August 2025
The administration is pushing for deregulation and streamlined permitting for natural gas, while tightening requirements and stripping away subsidies from renewables
8 August 2025
The producers’ group missed its output increase target for the month and may soon face a critical test of its strategy
7 August 2025
The quick, unified and decisive strategy to return all the barrels from the hefty tranche of cuts from the eight producers involved in voluntary curbs signals a shift and sets the tone for the path ahead
7 August 2025
Without US backing, the EU’s newest sanctions package against Russia—though not painless—is unlikely to have a significant impact on the country’s oil and gas revenues or its broader economy
