Shell to withdraw from Russian oil, gas in phased manner

Amid Russias atrocities in Ukraine Shell plc a multinational oil and gas company based in the UK on Tuesday local time announced its intent to withdraw from its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons including crude oil petroleum products gas and liquefied natural gas LNGIn a tweet the company said As an immediate first step we will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil shut service stations aviation fuels amp lubricants operations in RussiaThis comes at a time when UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday said that London and other Western governments are seriously considering sanctions on Russian energy exports in response to the ongoing military operation in UkraineSomething that perhaps three or four weeks ago we would never have considered is now very much on the table We have to all consider how we can all move away from dependence reliance on Russian hydrocarbons Johnson told a press briefing alongside his Canadian and Dutch counterparts in response to a question regarding sanctions on Russian energy exportsThe company said that the withdrawal will be done in a phased manner aligned with new government guidance As an immediate first step the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil It will also shut its service stations aviation fuels and lubricants operations in Russia said the company in its online portalShell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden was quoted as saying 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 the security of supplies at the forefront of our thinking was not the right one and we are sorry As we have already said we will commit profits from the limited remaining amounts of Russian oil we will process to a dedicated fund We will work with aid partners and humanitarian agencies over the coming days and weeks to determine where the monies from this fund are best placed to alleviate the terrible consequences that this war is having on the people of UkraineThe CEO said that that actions to date have been guided by continuous discussions with governments about the need to disentangle society from Russian energy flows while maintaining energy suppliesIn his remarks mentioned on the portal he said that the threats to stop pipeline flow to Europe further illustrate the difficult choices and potential consequencesThe company said unless directed by governments it will Immediately stop buying Russian crude oil on the spot market and we will not renew term contractsWe are changing our crude oil supply chain to remove Russian volumes it said adding 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 immediatelyThese 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 said van BeurdenBut ultimately it is for governments to decide on the incredibly difficult tradeoffs 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 he addedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever