War doesn't stop business. Shell keeps buying Russian oil
Energy — di Andrea Barolini
Anglo-Dutch company Shell continues to purchase oil from Russia. A controversial decision that has drawn sharp criticism.
War doesn't stop business. Shell keeps buying Russian oil
Anglo-Dutch company Shell continues to purchase oil from Russia. A controversial decision that has drawn sharp criticism.
Update 9 March – Anglo-Dutch giant Shell has reversed course and announced the closure of all its filling stations in Russia, as well as halting spot purchases of Russian-origin oil. The decision was announced on Tuesday, following a wave of criticism directed at the company. In a statement, Shell specified that its overall withdrawal from oil and gas produced by the nation led by Putin would nonetheless be "gradual". Chief Executive Ben van Beurden stressed that, in his view, the company faces a "dilemma, between the need to put pressure on the Moscow government over the atrocities committed in Ukraine and the need to ensure a stable and secure supply of energy across Europe".
The war in Ukraine doesn't stop business. On 4 March, Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell finalised the purchase at a discounted price of a cargo of "Ural" crude oil, "sold off" by Russia owing to the economic sanctions imposed by Western governments against Vladimir Putin. The restrictive measures have not, for the time being, banned the purchase of Russian crude and gas, for fear of a spike in prices. But that is not to say it could not happen in the near future.
"Can't you smell Ukrainian blood in Russian oil?"
It is a controversial decision, then, on Shell's part. One that immediately prompted a reaction from Kyiv's Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba: "I have been told that Shell quietly purchased Russian oil yesterday. I ask them: can't you smell Ukrainian blood in that oil?" The head of Ukrainian diplomacy then appealed "to all people of conscience in the world to demand that multinationals sever every kind of commercial relationship with Russia".
I am told that Shell discretely bought some Russian oil yesterday. One question to @Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell Ukrainian blood for you? I call on all conscious people around the globe to demand multinational companies to cut all business ties with Russia.
For its part, on that same day of 4 March the oil company, on the one hand, confirmed its decision to "exit joint ventures with Gazprom". But it clarified its intention to "continue to ensure a secure supply for our customers. We have also blocked a number of activities linked to Russian oil. In any case, we are purchasing alongside other Russian products from refineries and chemical facilities in order to guarantee the essential production that citizens and businesses need every day".
Shell's business continues to take precedence over ethics
A choice that is nothing short of contradictory, confirming the primacy of business logic even over ethical and humanitarian considerations. The price was, moreover, particularly attractive: $28.5 per barrel less than the Brent value.
The news also teaches two things: the first is that Russia finds itself forced to offer substantial discounts in order to sell its oil. The second is that, in any case, the Eurasian nation continues to find buyers on the market. And with little difficulty. Meanwhile, oil giant Rosneft is attempting to complete a massive crude oil sale — no fewer than 83 million barrels of Ural crude between the coming months of April and October.
Rosneft prepares to put 83 million barrels on the market
According to a report by the Ansa news agency, "the United States (the world's largest oil producer, followed by Saudi Arabia and Russia) is considering a possible ban on imports of Russian energy products, with Congress pressing Joe Biden and the White House having so far resisted". A course of action supported by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. Russia, on the contrary, considers that such a decision "would significantly distort the global energy market" and would produce serious consequences.
The sanctions game, in short, appears to be only just beginning. And without an even tighter clampdown on Russian fossil fuel exports, Western giants show no sign of wanting to give up their business dealings.