THE ExxonMobil-led operator of Russia's Sakhalin 1 oil and gas development has denied a report that it instructed employees not to attend public protests held across the country last weekend following the arrest of leading opposition figure Alexei Navalny. Exxon Neftegaz, which operates the project in Russia's far east, rejected the accusations that surfaced in a report on a local social network channel. "It is Exxon Neftegaz's practice to distribute public safety updates on public gatherings to all employees, to ensure our personnel and their families are aware and capable of making safe choices", the company told Upstream this week. A company official confirmed that an email had been distributed to employees ahead of the protests, but said it contained only a "warning" of a possible hazard to expatriates and Russian employees on shifts on the island and its capital, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
展开▼
