US imposed sanctions on certain individuals close to Vladimir Putin, including Igor Sechin. These sanctions were imposed to punish Russia for its takeover of Crimea and its aggression towards Ukraine. The purpose of these sanctions was to prevent US companies from engaging in business with the sanctioned individuals, so that they would put pressure on Putin.
The US company Exxon entered into a half trillion dollar contract with Russia's oil company Rosneft, whose director and CEO is Igor Sechin. If this contract is allowed to go forward, it will render the US sanctions meaningless and ineffective because Mr. Sechin will receive great benefits as though Exxon contracted directly with him and he will have no incentive to put pressure on Putin to stop Russia's aggression toward Ukraine.