A 3D-printed natural gas pipeline is placed in front of the Shell logo displayed in this illustration taken on February 8, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/
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March 8 (Reuters) – Shell (sigh) It stopped buying Russian crude on Tuesday and said it would phase out its participation in all Russian hydrocarbons from oil to natural gas over Ukraine, becoming one of the first major Western oil companies to abandon Russia entirely.
Oil prices jumped above $139 a barrel on Monday, reaching their highest level since July 2008, as the United States and its European allies began considering a ban on Russian oil imports due to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Shell also apologized for buying Russian crude last week after it said it would withdraw from its Russian operations, including the Sakhalin 2 LNG plant in which it owns a 27.5 percent stake and is operated by Gazprom. Read more
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“We are fully aware that our decision last week to purchase a shipment of Russian crude oil…was not the right decision and we are sorry,” Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said.
Traders said on Friday that Shell bought a shipment of Russian crude oil from Swiss trader Trafigura company at a record low of minus $ 28.50 of dated Brent. Read more
British rival BP said last month it had relinquished its 19.75 percent stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft. (ROSN.MM). Read more
Shell said it would change its crude oil supply chain to remove volumes from Russia “as quickly as possible” and close service stations in Russia, as well as operations for jet fuel and lubricants in the country.
The company said the supply chain change could take weeks to complete and result in reduced production from some of its refineries while it would be withdrawn from Russian petroleum products, pipelines and liquefied natural gas (LNG) in phases.
The company also plans to end its participation in the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline connecting Russia with Germany, which it helped fund as part of a consortium.
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Additional reporting by Yadarissa Chapung in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Ahmed Ghaddar from London. Editing by Shinjini Ganguly, Louise Heavens and David Clarke
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