ventures between western corporations like shell and exxon and state-owned companies like rozneft and gazprom. >> after the crisis over crimea and ukraine western european and american sanctions have targeted technology needs. and those companies cannot provide the technology and they can't provide the financing that would help. so now that energy production has slowed. and exxonmobil has left. its prourks -- production project -- >> you could argue the ukraine sanctions might have put certain development five or 10 years behind. >> the collapse of oil prices in 2014 has stalled offshore oil drilling plans by chevron and norwegian, danish and french oil companies. offshore development in this faragal and pristine environment has some experts concerned. >> many of the technologies that have been used in the lower 48 in responding to spills, whether they are a small or large, involve mechanical recovery systems that do not assume that they are operating in ice. and ice creates a variety of problems. in terms of responding to spills. >> a recent government study said that if oil is produced in t