Shell to Halt Russian Oil and Gas Deals

Shell will soon halt all involvement in trading energy of Russian origin. File Image / Pixabay

Global energy firm Shell is set to halt all deals in oil and gas of Russian origins in response to the invasion of Ukraine.

The firm will withdraw from its involvement in Russian oil, refined products, gas and LNG 'in a phased manner', it said in an emailed statement on Tuesday.

The company plans the following actions, according to the statement:

• Immediately stop buying Russian crude oil on the spot market and we will not renew term contracts
• At the same time, in close consultation with governments, we are changing our crude oil supply chain to remove Russian volumes. We will do this as fast as possible, but the physical location and availability of alternatives mean this could take weeks to complete and will lead to reduced throughput at some of our refineries
• We will shut our service stations, aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia. We will consider very carefully the safest way to do this, but the process will start immediately
• We will start our phased withdrawal from Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and LNG. This is a complex challenge. Changing this part of the energy system will require concerted action by governments, energy suppliers and customers, and a transition to other energy supplies will take much longer

"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," Ben van Beurden, CEO of Shell, said in the statement.

"But ultimately, it is for governments to decide on the incredibly difficult trade-offs that must be made during the war in Ukraine.

"We will continue to work with them to help manage the potential impacts on the security of energy supplies, particularly in Europe."