Recasts headline, adds detail

MOSCOW, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Monday extending the sale period for Exxon's XOM.N stake in Russia's Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project for one year until Jan. 1 2026.

In 2022, Exxon took a $4.6 billion impairment charge for exiting the development in the Pacific island of Sakhalin, its largest investment in Russia, after the start of what Moscow calls a special military operation in Ukraine.

Exxon Mobil Corp held a 30% operator stake in Sakhalin-1, with Russian company Rosneft ROSN.MM, India's ONGC Videsh ONVI.NS and Japan's SODECO as partners.

Exxon did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

It's not clear why the sale period was extended. It was due to expire on Jan. 1, 2025, according to the decree signed in October 2022.

Donald Trump becomes U.S. President on Jan. 20. Putin said last month that Moscow was ready for dialogue with the Republican president-elect, while also saying that he saw signals that some U.S. companies sought to return to Russia.

As of March 2024, the corporate exodus from Russia since the conflict in Ukraine started had cost foreign companies more than $107 billion in writedowns and lost revenue, a Reuters analysis of company filings and statements showed.

In August 2022, Putin also signed a first decree that Exxon said made a secure and environmentally safe exit from Sakhalin-1 difficult. The U.S. producer reacted to that decree by issuing a "note of difference", a legal step before arbitration.

(Reporting by Vladimir Soldatkin. Additional reporting by Gary McWilliams. Editing by Louise Heavens and Mark Potter)