BP, Equinor, Shell Pull Out Investments In Russian Oil Firms Over Ukraine Invasion

Three oil giants BP, Equinor and Shell have decided to part ways with Russia following the counter recent invasion of Ukraine resulting in the loss of human lives.

While BP announced that it is offloading its 19.75 per cent stake in a Russian state-owned oil firm, Rosneft, Shell said it would end all of its joint ventures with the Russian energy company, Gazprom.

BP had come under pressure from the UK government to make the move since last Thursday’s invasion.

It has held the shareholding in the Russian company since 2013.

In a raft of actions to show their unhappiness about the Russian invasion in Ukraine, BP’s Chief Executive, Bernard Looney, has also resigned “with immediate effect” from the Rosneft board, as has fellow BP-nominated Director, Bob Dudley.

Mr Looney had been on the Rosneft board since 2020 alongside its Chairman, Igor Sechin, who is a close friend and ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

BP’s latest annual results published two weeks ago revealed Rosneft accounted for $2.7 billion (£2bn) of its profits, about a fifth of its total.

Regarding Equinor’s decision to end its investment in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, President and CEO Anders Opedal, in a statement, said: “We are all deeply troubled by the invasion of Ukraine, which represents a terrible setback for the world, and we are thinking of all those who are suffering because of the military action.

“In the current situation, we regard our position as untenable. We will now stop new investments into our Russian business, and we will start the process of exiting our joint ventures in a manner that is consistent with our values. Our top priority in this difficult situation is the safety and security of our people,” Opal said.

It came after Norway’s $1.3 trillion (£970bn) sovereign wealth fund, which is the world’s largest, also announced on Sunday that it would freeze and divest its Russian assets.

On its part, French oil giant, Shell, in a statement issued on Monday, said that it is exiting its operations in Russia including a major liquefied natural gas plant.

It said it would quit the flagship Sakhalin 2 LNG plant which holds a 27 per cent stake and which is 50 per cent owned and operated by Russian gas giant, Gasprom.

Shell said the decision to exit Russian joint ventures would lead to impairments.

Shell had around $3 billion in non-current assets in these ventures in Russia at the end of 2021, it said.

“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell Chief Executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement.

Source: https://energynewsafrica.com