Russia’s invitation to Shell to take part in the Sakhalin-3 and 4 energy projects off Russia’s Pacific coast might call to mind a mugger turning round and inviting his victim out for a few drinks. Yet in spite of the bloody noses suffered by Shell and BP, foreign oil groups keep returning to Russia as it has what they crave: vast reserves. Russia, meanwhile, needs their technology and knowhow – especially in deep-sea production and liquefied natural gas.

For a time, the Kremlin seemed to think it could simply rent that technology without ceding any ownership. The credit crunch has since made Moscow realise it needs not only foreign expertise but cash too. Hence, over the past month, Germany’s Eon Ruhrgas has signed a long-awaited deal with Gazprom on west Siberia’s Yuzhno-Russkoye gas field; last week, the Kremlin blessed an agreement between France’s Total and Novatek, Russia’s biggest independent gas producer; and now Vladimir Putin, prime minister, has marked out Shell as frontrunner for future Sakhalin development.