Ukraine: Shell to WITHDRAW from Russian oil and gas

Oil giant Shell has announced it intends withdrawing from Russian oil and gas and close all its service stations across the country.

“As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil. It will also shut its service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia,” Shell said in a statement.

The company has also apologised for purchasing Russian oil on a massive discount, particularly as the country becomes increasingly isolated. More companies are halting operations in Russia, amid its endless attacks on Ukraine.

It has been nearly two weeks since President Vladimir Putin launched an offensive in Ukraine – sending hundreds of thousands of troops into the country to invade and attack key structures in several cities. At the heart of it is Ukraine’s request to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) which is a military alliance Putin fears is getting too close to Russia’s borders.

SHELL PARTS WAYS WITH RUSSIA

Shell announced a string of moves concerning its business in Russia, which is yet another blow for the country, particularly because it depends heavily on oil exports as a revenue stream. These include:

-Immediately stop buying Russian crude oil on the spot market and not renew term contracts

-Changing our crude oil supply chain to remove Russian volumes

-Shut service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia.

-Begin a phased withdrawal from Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and LNG.

“We are acutely aware that our decision last week to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil to be refined into products like petrol and diesel – despite being made with security of supplies at the forefront of our thinking – was not the right one and we are sorry. As we have already said, we will commit profits from the limited, remaining amounts of Russian oil we will process to a dedicated fund. We will work with aid partners and humanitarian agencies over the coming days and weeks to determine where the monies from this fund are best placed to alleviate the terrible consequences that this war is having on the people of Ukraine,” 

Shell Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden