Shell is adopting a wait and see approach now that the Russian authorities have temporarily withdrawn its environmental licence to extract oil and gas from the Sakhalin peninsula.

Shell, which is investing $20 bn in the project, said yesterday it had not broken any laws and that any problems had been tackled and solved. Environmental campaigners say the Sakhalin development threatens rare whales and other wildlife. Shell won the concession when Boris Jeltsin was in power.