Exxon Neftegas is co-sponsoring a gray whale monitoring project off Sakhalin Island in eastern Russia. This program is conducted by Russian and
international whale scientists, approved annually by Russian Federation
environmental regulatory authorities including Rosprirodnadzor, and in
close cooperation with Russian scientific institutes affiliated with the
Russian Academy of Sciences.

Based on these multi-year cooperative efforts, ENL say it has not observed any evidence that the oil and gas Sakhalin-1 are adversely impacting the western gray whale population or their habitat in any measurable way.

According to the World Wildlife Fund gray whale numbers are down in the area.