Russian state-run oil service company: President Putin has approved the creation of a state-owned oil exploration drilling corporation to take the place of the Western oil service companies that have been forced by sanctions to reduce their Russian operations. It is being reported that Putin has given his stamp of approval to a letter he received last month from Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Khloponin in which Khloponin argued that in a time of “sharply escalating international tensions,” a national oil service company uniting all necessary drilling and servicing expertise was crucial if Russia was to stabilise its long-term hydrocarbon output. The Moscow Times