re: Are people on here not a tad worried about Putin?

Putin took a hit this week when ExxonMobil was forced to cease drilling their first Artic well in the Kara Sea. Exxon & Rosneft are partners in this venture and it will most likely be continued in a few years, but Exxon provided the technology that Rosneft lacked in order to drill into what may be a reservoir that could have reserves equal to Saudi Arabia.

Exxon tried like hell to avoid the sanctions by spending over $6 million on lobbying since the 1st of the year. Putin & Exxon CEO Rex Tillerson are buddies, but the loopholes were recently closed and Exxon has 2 weeks to mothball the rig. The conditions in the Arctic are such that there are only 70 days during the year in which drilling is feasible. They were on day 35 when it was shut down.

The significance of this stoppage is that Russia's oil production is on the decline while oil prices are dropping and its # 1 taxpayer, Rosneft, is asking the government for a $40 billion subsidy. Russia is in a recession that may well result in a depression if the trend continues.