Despite the economic sanctions against the Russian government of Vladimir Putin, oil, the Kremlin’s source of wealth, has so far not been affected by international pressure. In fact, Shell acknowledged this Saturday that it will continue to purchase from that country , but in the face of the war , it said that it will donate the proceeds to Ukraine.
Shell is the largest fuel company in Europe. In a statement, he reported that he will maintain purchases of Russian crude to supply refineries and sell to customers at service stations with gasoline and diesel. But, aware of the international situation, he sent a message to Ukraine.Shell assured that it will donate the profits to a special fund dedicated to the “Ukrainian people”, according to The New York Times. The company’s clarification comes after The Financial Times revealed that the company had recently brought in a ship with Russian oil.
A message from the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, had added temperature on Friday. He posted on Twitter that it appeared Shell had discreetly accessed an oil supply . “Don’t you think that Russian oil smells like Ukrainian blood?” he asked the firm. And he added: “I call on all conscientious people around the world to demand that multinational companies cut trade ties with Russia.”
Amid international pressure, Shell had indicated last Monday that it planned to discontinue its operations in Russia as a result of the aggression against Ukraine and the solidarity shown by a large part of the international community.
According to Shell, the governments want, despite the war, that the supply of energy from Russia be maintained. The company described, however, that the purchase of oil from Putin’s country is a “difficult decision” to “avoid disruptions in the market.”
Without a continuous supply of crude oil to refineries, the energy industry cannot ensure its continued supply of essential products to people in Europe in the coming weeks,” the company said.
Russia is one of the world’s largest oil exporters. “Ships from alternative sources will probably not arrive on time ,” the company added.
Shell had announced on Monday that it would drop joint projects with Gazprom , Russia’s monopoly gas company, including facilities on the Sakkalin Islands in eastern Russia.
Likewise, the company promised to stop its participation in the Nordstream 2 gas pipeline , an ambitious project that plans to connect Russia with Germany, and that had sparked resentment in other Western countries due to the power it represents for Putin. Although the work has been practically completed, it has been blocked in recent weeks.
Shell has said it will seek alternatives to buy crude from other sources, but said cutting off imports from Russia will not happen overnight.
The company promised to coordinate with humanitarian organizations to get assistance to Ukraine. The firm said that in this way it will be decided with them where to send the money from their purchases to Russia “to alleviate the terrible consequences” of the war.
