Russia's Rosneft paid just $1 for a Norwegian oil major's main assets when the Ukraine war forced it to exit the country: report

• Rosneft paid just 1 euro ($1) for Equinor's main assets when the Norwegian oil major left Russia, per Reuters.
• Western oil majors have been trying to exit Russia given the sanctions its faces over the Ukraine war.

Russia's state-run energy giant Rosneft paid the equivalent of $1 for Equinor's main assets when the Norwegian oil major left its operations in the country earlier this month, Reuters reported.

In sealing the deal that allowed it to fully exit Russia, Equinor dodged a long-drawn-out faceoff with Moscow, but at a cost.

After weeks of negotiations, the Kremlin agreed to allow Equinor to drop $1 billion worth of future investment liabilities and commitments, Reuters reported Wednesday, citing three industry sources.

They will be transferred to Rosneft as part of the deal, which called for the Norwegian company to sell its stake in its joint ventures with its Russian counterpart for just 1 euro ($1) in return.

It means Equinor is walking away from a deal it signed a decade ago to help Rosneft search for oil and gas across north, eastern, and southern Russia.

The Norwegian energy giant said earlier in September it had fully exited its four joint ventures with Rosneft at the start of the month, becoming the first western oil major to have no remaining assets or projects in Russia.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin signed a presidential decree in August that prevents foreign investors from selling their stakes in oil, gas and banking projects without the Kremlin's approval. That has disrupted other energy giants' attempts to find buyers for their Russian businesses.

British firms BP and Shell are yet to sell or forgo their investments in Russia. Meanwhile, the US's ExxonMobil is weighing up legal action to contest Putin's decree, which it says has blocked its attempts to exit the country.

All three companies said they intended to leave Russia after Putin invaded Ukraine in late February, and each estimate that abandoning their Russian operations would lead to losses amounting to tens of billions of dollars.

The price of Equinor shares in Norway were up 0.37% at last check Wednesday, while its US-listed stock was up 1.82% in premarket trading.

Equinor and Rosneft didn't immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.