Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Friday establishing a new operator for the Exxon Mobil Corp-led Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia’s Far East.

Putin’s move impacts Exxon’s largest investment in Russia and mimics a strategy the country has used to gain control of other assets in the industry.

The decree empowers the Russian government to decide whether foreign shareholders can hold shares in the project.

Exxon has a 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 operator in partnership with the Russian company Rosneft, the Indian ONGC Videsh and the Japanese SODECO.

Oil production on the Sakhalin-1 project fell from 220,000 bpd before Russia invaded Ukraine to just 10,000 bpd in July.

Exxon has been trying to exit its Russian operations and transfer its stake in Sakhalin-1 to a partner since March, following international sanctions against Moscow.