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April 20, 2017

Exxon Asks for Treasury Dept. Waiver to Drill in Black Sea with Russian Oil Company
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Oil giant Exxon Mobil is pursuing a waiver in order to drill in the
Black Sea as part of a joint venture with the Russian state oil company
Rosneft. The waiver would allow Exxon to circumvent U.S. Treasury
Department sanctions imposed on Russia over its annexation of Crimea.
The State Department, headed by longtime Exxon Mobil CEO Rex Tillerson,
is one of the U.S. agencies that would have to approve the
waiver-meaning the current CEO of Exxon will be asking an agency headed
by the former CEO of Exxon for permission to drill. The State Department
says Tillerson has recused himself from matters involving Exxon for two
years. Exxon Mobil claims it could lose its contract to drill in the
Black Sea if it doesn't begin operations by the end of this year.


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