Khodorkovsky & Lebedev Communications Center

The news follows Exxon's February 13 announcement that it had put new exploration and other work on hold at Sakhalin because the government failed to approve spending and work plans for 2008 and 2009.

Exxon spokesman Len D'Eramo said: "We prefer not to discuss the specific nature of these communications, as our focus at this time is to work directly with Russian Federation officials. Our goal is that we can successfully resolve these issues as quickly as possible with a minimal impact on project development."