LONDON (AP) — Energy giant Shell said Tuesday that it will stop buying Russian oil and natural gas and shut down its service stations, aviation fuels and other operations in the country amid international pressure for companies to sever ties over the invasion of Ukraine.
The company said in a statement that it would withdraw from all Russian hydrocarbons, including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, “in a phased manner.”
The decision comes as surging oil prices have been rattling global markets and days after Ukraine’s foreign minister criticized Shell for continuing to buy Russian oil, lashing out at the company for continuing to do business with President Vladimir Putin’s government.
“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.
He said profits from the company’s “limited, remaining amounts of Russian oil” would go to a fund for relief efforts for Ukrainians.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said he had been told Shell “discreetly” bought the oil Friday and appealed to the public to pressure the company and other international firms to halt such purchases.
“One question to Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell (like) Ukrainian blood for you?” Kuleba said on Twitter. “I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia.”
Last week, Shell said it was “shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine” and would end its joint ventures with Gazprom, the massive oil and gas company controlled by the Russian government.
While the U.S., Britain and the European Union have imposed tough economic sanctions on Russia, they have stopped short of banning oil and gas imports from Russia because of concerns about the impact that would have on global energy supplies. Russia is the world’s second-biggest oil producer, accounting for more than 12% of global production, according to the International Energy Agency.
Ukraine and its supporters have called on countries around the world to stop buying Russian oil to restrict funding for Putin’s military exploits. But that is certain to affect consumers.
A month ago, oil was selling for about $90 a barrel. Now, prices are surging past $120 a barrel as buyers shun Russian crude, with many refiners fearing that sanctions could be imposed in the future. They worry about being left with oil they couldn’t resell as gasoline if sanctions were imposed in the near future.
“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.
He said Shell would work with governments “to help manage the potential impacts on the security of energy supplies, particularly in Europe.”
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Join forces with the rest of the oil industry and beat the door down to the Oval Office and demand a return to the fossil fuel industry.
Even when given a valid excuse to reopen American oil Production and save his party in the next election, he just lets his Putin inspired puppeteers pull the same old Biden strings that lead to an energy deprived American nation, recently threatened with nuclear war. By Joe’s very actions, there can be no doubt the Biden and Hunter have committed crimes against America so egregious which Putin is holding over his head for past oil deals that enriched the Biden family, that he would so blatantly stoop to undermine our ability to wage war and support our European allies. If Biden would honestly seek to seize and freeze and investigate Russian Oiligarchs, he had best start with his own family.
YET WE STILL here nary a peep from the GOP, about impeaching him… BUNCH OF yella bellies
Putin failed to get bombed and shelled by Biden, but private company Shell oil is finally unilaterally severing ties with Putin. Biden’s shell-shocked political war damaged brain and rambling Boogity shoo propaganda keeps shelling itself and strategically diminishing the Democrat party’ ability to make war upon the Republicans and Trump in the next election. Only a repeat of the electoral cyber warfare upon our American voting machines will be his only hope come November. THE PEOPLE given the opportunity to see how his war on the Republicans has totally destroyed the Political team he now leads is putting chills down all our American spines to think this guy will be the one to lead us into war, for a modern update of the meaning “Pyrrhic victory” where only the basement dwelling Morlocks like Joe and Putin remain standing while our descendants become a race of useful idiot Orwellian Eloi, bred to serve them.
As I recall, the eco-terrorists claimed that the oil industry had such a strong lobby in Congress that ir was impossible for them to get their radical agenda through. What happened? Right after the disasterous pipeline cancellation why weren’t these ‘strong’ lobbyists banging on Congress’ door to have this executive diktat reversed or had they been Biden supporters all along. Now the consequences have come into play and what are they doing? Haven’t heard much from the industry. Of course they might be making more profit from overseas sources than they can at home.
I was just about to cut up my Shell gas card. It is inconceivable to me that any democrat is more interested in their prescious “Green New Deal” than in stopping Putin as we watch people being killed in Ukraine on TV. We need to ramp up our gas production at home and help ourselves and others while also supporting and pursuing environmental goals. Why in the world can we not do both? Looks to me like the polarizing left are giving us the next election on a platter. This administration is an abject failure.
THEY HATE america, so its NOT, to me, Inconceivable that the dems are doing all of this.