The Anglo-Dutch oil company Shell has promised this Tuesday to stop buying crude oil from Russia “immediately” and has apologized after the harsh criticism received for having seized a shipment at a reduced price over the weekend.
The multinational also announced that it will close all its service stations in the country, in addition to stopping its aviation fuel and lubricant operations.
The executive director of the oil company said on Tuesday that it was wrong to have bought Russian oil.
“We are well aware that our decision last week to buy a cargo of Russian crude oil to refine it into products such as gasoline and diesel. Despite having done so with the safety of the supplies in mind, was not the (decision) correct and we are sorry“, said the CEO of Shell, Ben van Beurden.
The company will allocate the profits from the remnants of Russian crude to a fund to help Ukraine, added the manager.
“Complex challenge”
“This is a complex challenge”, said Ben van Beurden.
“Changing this part of the energy system will require concerted action by governments, energy providers and customers , and the transition to other energy supplies will take much longer “, pointed out the Shell manager.
The end of week the company justified the purchase of Russian crude by saying that it did not have “at alternative” to maintain the fuel supply to Europe and said it was a “difficult” decision.
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Russian oil currently represents about 8% of the supplies of shell work. One of the firm’s refineries, which produces diesel, gasoline and other products, is also among the largest in Europe.
The shipments of other crude sources would not have arrived in time to avoid market supply disruptions, Van Beurden added.
However, it is not yet clear how it will replace Shell the volume of fuel produced by Russia.
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“These social challenges highlight the dilemma between putting pressure on the Russian government for its atrocities in Ukraine and ensuring a stable and secure energy supply throughout Europe”, added the executive director.
“But, ultimately Ultimately, it is up to governments to decide on the incredibly difficult trade-offs that need to be made during the war in Ukraine.”
He added that the firm would continue to work with governments on how to manage any potential supply shocks.
Last week, Shell announced its intention to exit the joint ventures in which it participates with the Russian state company Gazprom, as well as to end its participation in the Nord oil pipeline project Stream 2.
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One of the criticisms the company received for its decision to continue buying from Russia last week came from Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
“Doesn’t Russian oil smell like Ukrainian blood to you?” asked the Ukrainian politician via Twitter .
Until now, Western countries have not imposed sanctions on imports of Russian oil, for fear of increasing energy prices that are already record worldwide.
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