By Amy Harder And William Mauldin
WASHINGTON--U.S. and European Union officials are close to
imposing the toughest round of energy sanctions yet, which would
hit both Russia's energy industry and companies like Exxon Mobil
Corp. that are working with state-controlled oil companies.
The sanctions would ban U.S. and European companies from working
with Russia on future oil exploration in the Russian Arctic, deep
seas and shale rock formations, according to a U.S. official who
would only speak on the condition of anonymity because details of
the sanctions package aren't yet final.
The sanctions wouldn't affect current oil production, but could
imperil the future of existing partnerships, including a deal
between Exxon Mobil and Rosneft, the Russian-owned oil company, to
drill in the Arctic Ocean.
"It's a very big deal," the official said, declining to say when
the announcement would be made, which depends on when or if the
cease-fire holds between pro-Russian separatists and Ukraine.
Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers declined to say how the new
sanctions could affect his company. "We are assessing the
sanctions," Mr. Jeffers said in an email. "It is our policy to
comply with all laws."
Bloomberg News first reported the sanctions Wednesday
afternoon.
It isn't clear when the planned sanctions would be enacted. The
EU this week approved a new round of sanctions against Moscow,
including a range of energy restrictions, but has held off enacting
them while negotiations continue between Moscow and Kiev. The
precise details of this new EU package haven't been released.
The U.S. and EU have coordinated on parallel sanctions banning
the use of American and European expertise and technologies to
Russia, which depends upon both to develop its own energy
resources.
Write to Amy Harder at amy.harder@wsj.com and William Mauldin at
william.mauldin@wsj.com