Shell will also discontinue its spot purchase of crude oil and its operations with aviation fuels and lubricants in Russia.
The company Shell will stop buying gas and oil from Russia and will close its gas stations in that countryas announced on Tuesday in a statement in which he also presented his “apologies” for having acquired Russian hydrocarbons following the invasion of Ukraine.
“Shell announces its intention to withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, gas and liquefied natural gas, gradually, in line with the (British) Government guidelines”the company noted.
As an “immediate” first step, Shell will halt crude oil spot purchases and close all of its service stations and aviation fuel and lubricant operations in Russia.
On February 28, Shell had already announced that it will abandon all the joint projects it has with the Russian giant Gazpromwhich will give up its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, as well as 50% in the Salym and Gydan oil projects in Siberia, and which terminates its stake in the Russian- German Nord Stream 2.
“We are acutely aware that our decision last week to purchase a shipment of Russian crude to be refined into gasoline and diesel … It was not appropriate and we apologize”said today the CEO of the firm, Ben van Beurden.
The person in charge indicated that they will allocate the profits from the remaining Russian oil that they still have to a fund to help the victims of the conflict.
For Van Beurden, the challenges facing the sector “highlight the dilemma between putting pressure on the Russian government for its atrocities in Ukraine and guaranteeing stable and secure energy supplies throughout Europe.”
Ultimately, the Shell CEO considered, it will be up to governments to decide on the “incredibly difficult sacrifices” that will have to be made during the conflict in Ukraine.
Shell shares on the Euronext market traded slightly lower today and yielded 0.5%up to 23.8 euros.
