The decision about development plans for the offshore Sakhalin-II drilling platform has been deferred by the Sakhalin Energy consortium, according to the western gray whale expert panel report. The Sakhalin-II drilling platform is located off the coast of Russia.

Concerns had been raised over the platform's potential impact on western north Pacific gray whales, of which only an estimated 150 animals remain. WWF and other organizations have campaigned to stop the platform from being built by targeting both the oil company and the banks that are the main investors to the project, and see this as a successful outcome.

"Sakhalin Energy has delayed until 2017 its decision about building an additional oil platform, meaning the whales are safe at least until 2020. This gives us more time to convince the company that the project should be stopped for good," said Aleksey Kniznikov, Oil and Gas Programme Coordinator of WWF-Russia.