Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and will phase out its involvement in all hydrocarbon operations in the country, including crude oil and natural gas — a move that comes amid mounting pressure from the West to sever its ties with Russia.
In a statement Tuesday, the energy giant said it will also shut down its operations in Russia, including service stations and aviation fuels, and will change its crude oil supply chain to remove volumes from the country “as fast as possible.”
The announcement makes Shell one of the first major Western oil companies to cease all involvement in Russia.
It also comes after Ukraine’s foreign minister blasted Shell Friday for its decision to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil despite its earlier pledge to pull out of the country along with other energy giants in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
“One question to Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell (like) Ukrainian blood for you?” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter Friday. “I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia.”
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On Tuesday, Shell apologized for the purchase. “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,” CEO Ben van Beurden said in a statement.
He added that all profits from Shell’s “limited, remaining amounts of Russian oil” will be directed to a fund for Ukraine relief efforts.
Shell’s decision comes as oil prices surged yet again on Tuesday, with futures for international standard Brent crude rising to $126.53 a barrel. Futures for U.S.-based West Texas Intermediate, meanwhile, climbed to $122.24 a barrel.
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“These societal challenges highlight the dilemma between putting pressure on the Russian government over its atrocities in Ukraine and ensuring stable, secure energy supplies across Europe,” van Beurden said.
