Energy Oil company Shell stops buying Russian crude oil, apologizes for last week’s oil trade

Oil company Shell plans to stop buying Russian crude oil and will withdraw completely from all projects related to Russian hydrocarbons, the company said on Tuesday, according to news agencies Reuters and AP.

At the same time, the company apologized for buying a batch of Russian crude oil last week. CEO of Shell Ben van Beurden acknowledged that the purchase decision was not correct and that the company was “acutely aware”.

Shell said it will change its crude oil supply chains “as soon as possible” and will close its gas station and other operations in Russia.

According to the company, the change in supply chains will take several weeks. The changes will also reduce production volumes at some of Shell’s refineries.

Shell has previously announced that it is withdrawing from oil and gas projects in Russia and is likely to suffer billions of euros in losses.

The company had to explain its purchase with a long statement. According to Shell, the choice was difficult, but it had to ensure the continuity of production in a situation where alternative supplies were not quickly available. The company promised to reduce the use of Russian crude oil and donate the profits from the refining of Russian crude oil to Ukraine.