Shell makes ‘difficult’ decision to buy Russian crude, pledges to buy elsewhere ‘whenever possible’

seashells oil The company issued a statement on Saturday saying it was “appalling” before RussiaInvade Ukraine It will do its best to avoid buying oil from Russia while acknowledging that it recently bought crude oil from the country.

“We were appalled by the war in Ukraine and we have already made clear our intention to exit joint ventures with Gazprom – majority owned by the Russian government – and related entities, as well as intend to terminate our participation in an important project for gas pipelines from Russia to Europe.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (Yuri Kochichkov/Paul Photo via AP/AP Newsroom)

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company announce Earlier this week it severed ties with Gazprom.

In the statement, Shell acknowledged that it had recently purchased crude oil from Russia and is aware that this will be seen as a controversial move.

“Yesterday we made the difficult decision to purchase a shipment of Russian crude oil,” Shell said. “Our refineries produce the gasoline and diesel as well as other products that people depend on every day. To be clear, without a continuous supply of crude oil to refineries, the energy sector cannot guarantee that essential products will continue to be supplied to people across Europe for weeks into the future. from alternative sources that would not have arrived in time to avoid supply disruptions in the market.”

FILE PHOTO: The Shell logo is reflected in a car side mirror at a petrol station in West London, Britain. (Reuters/Reuters Photo)

Experts said the private sector in Russia was “remarkably fast”

The company said it did not “take this decision lightly” and will do what it can to avoid buying oil from Russia in the future.

“We will continue to choose alternatives to Russian oil whenever possible, but this cannot happen overnight due to Russia’s importance to global supplies,” the statement added. “We have had extensive conversations with governments and continue to follow their guidance on this issue of security of supply, fully aware that we have to overcome this dilemma with the utmost care. We welcome any guidance or insights from governments and policy makers as we try to keep Europe moving forward and working.” .

The company also said it would allocate any future profits from Russian oil to a “dedicated fund” to support the Ukrainian people.

Civil protection volunteers load humanitarian aid onto a truck for victims of the Russian invasion (Photo by Associated Press/Michael Euler)

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“We will work with aid partners and humanitarian agencies over the coming days and weeks to determine the best place for this fund’s money to mitigate the dire consequences of this war for the people of Ukraine.

Shell’s statement comes on the heels of an announcement from oil company BP that He said It will give up its 19.75% stake in Russian energy company Rosneft.