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U.S. oil giant聽ExxonMobil聽began drilling in聽Russia's Arctic on Saturday, despite Western sanctions imposed on its Russian partner聽Rosneft, and was hailed by聽Russia's president as an model of "cooperation".

Although U.S. sanctions over the crisis in聽Ukraine聽are not designed to halt joint projects by Russian and U.S. companies, they nevertheless aim to starve聽Rosneft聽of dollar financing and ban access to modern technology.

"Today, commercial success is driven by efficient international cooperation,"聽Vladimir Putin听迟辞濒诲听搁辞蝉苍别蹿迟听颁贰翱 Igor Sechin and聽Glenn Waller,聽ExxonMobil's lead manager in聽Russia, on a videoconference call from his聽Black Sea聽residence in聽Sochi.

"Businesses, including Russian and foreign companies, perfectly realize that and despite certain current political difficulties, pragmatism and common sense prevail, and we are pleased to hear that," he said.

Exxon brought a rig from聽Norway聽to drill聽Russia's first well in the Kara Sea and its move will be seen as a vote of confidence in聽Rosneft, run by a close ally of Putin's, Igor Sechin, who has also had sanctions imposed on him by Washington.

"We of course welcome this approach (to cooperate) and are from our side are open to expand our cooperation," Putin said.

"I am convinced that the joint projects between聽Rosneft, Exxon Mobil and other companies will benefit our national economies, will contribute to strengthening the global energy situation," he said.

Waller, who spoke Russian, said the company was keen to keep working in聽Russia.

"Our cooperation is a long-term one," he said. "We see big benefits here and are ready to work here with your agreement."

罢丑别听United States聽and the聽European Union聽have introduced sanctions, from asset freezes and visa bans for businessmen and officials thought close to Putin, to limits on access to Western capital for Russian state banks over what Western powers say is聽Moscow's role in the聽Ukraine聽crisis.

Moscow聽has responded by banning food imports from the United States,聽European Union,聽Australia,Canada聽and聽Norway, with Prime Minister聽Dmitry Medvedev聽threatening further counter-sanctions if the West presses ahead with more penalties.聽

As reported last month by the Monitor's David Unger, the West's current sanctions don't hit Russia's current oil and gas production, which could limit Russian exports to Europe:听

Russia, after all, produces about 30 percent of the natural gas聽Europe聽burns to run its power plants and heat its homes. The country鈥檚 state-run oil company, Rosneft, accounts for more than 4 percent of the world鈥檚 oil, at a time when violence in Iraq, Libya, and elsewhere threaten global supply.

It鈥檚 why this week鈥檚 energy sanctions largely sidestep Russia鈥檚 current oil and gas output, opting instead to limit energy technology critical to its future. 聽

鈥淭he intention of the oil technology licensing restrictions is not to affect current oil production or Russian sales right now, but it does have and will have a cumulative impact on development of future fields, particularly the exotic fields -- Arctic, deep sea, and shale,鈥� A senior administration official said in聽. 鈥淎nd the impact of these restrictions will grow over time.鈥� 聽

Advanced extraction techniques like hydraulic fracturing, horizontal drilling, and ultra-deepwater exploration have unlocked new sources of oil and gas in the US. Russia has made progress on doing the same in Siberia and the Arctic, but it relies on Western firms like聽BP聽and ExxonMobil for technology and expertise. This week鈥檚 sanctions aim to cut off that transfer of knowledge. 聽