MOSCOW, Aug 15 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir

Putin on Friday signed a decree that could allow foreign

investors, including top U.S. oil major Exxon Mobil ( XOM ), to

regain shares in the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project.

The signing of the decree comes on the day Russian president

Vladimir Putin meets Donald Trump in Alaska for a summit where

opportunities for investment and business collaboration will be

on the agenda, alongside talks to find peace in Ukraine.

Friday's decree was published as a follow-up to one Putin

signed in October 2022, which ordered the seizure of the

Sakhalin-1 project.

Exxon previously held a 30% operator share in the lucrative

project, and is the only non-Russian investor to have quit its

stake.

Exxon did not immediately reply to Reuters request for

comment.

The path to Western investment returning to Russia is

unclear given the U.S. and European Union would need to lift

far-reaching sanctions to facilitate investment. Companies who

might wish to return, having spent significant amounts of money

to exit the country three years ago, also face high barriers put

up by the Russian government.

Trump and his team have considered what sanctions they may

be able to lift quickly in the case of progress in talks.

Sakhalin-1 has to date not been directly designated under

extensive U.S. sanctions on Russian energy.

The decree stipulates that foreign shareholders must

undertake actions to support the lifting of Western sanctions if

they want to regain their share. They must also conclude

contracts for supplies of necessary foreign-made equipment to

the project, and transfer funds to Sakhalin-1 project accounts.

Exxon took an impairment charge of $4.6 billion to exit its

Russian business after Moscow sent troops into Ukraine in

February 2022.

In December 2024, Putin signed a decree extending the sale

period for the unclaimed Exxon stake in Sakhalin-1 until 2026.

The October 2022 decree established Rosneft subsidiary

Sakhalinmorneftegaz-shelf as the new operator, allowing the

Russian government to decide foreign investors' ownership rights

in Sakhalin-1.

Alongside Exxon, Russian company Rosneft, India's

ONGC Videsh and Japan's SODECO were partner investors.

The Russian government allowed both ONGC Videsh and SODECO to

keep their stakes.