Europe's largest oil company Shell announced its intention to gradually withdraw from all Russian projects related to Russian hydrocarbons - crude oil, petroleum products, gas and liquefied natural gas.
This is evidenced by the company's statement.
As an immediate first step, the company will stop all spot purchases of Russian crude oil. It will also close all of its gas stations and production of jet fuel and lubricants in Russia.
"We are keenly aware that our decision last week to purchase a batch of Russian crude oil for refining into products such as gasoline and diesel fuel, even though it was made with supply security in mind, was wrong, and we apologize," Shell CEO Ben Van Beurden said.
The company said it is working closely with governments to change its crude supply chain to eliminate Russian volumes.
"We will do this as soon as possible, but the physical location and availability of alternatives means it could take several weeks and result in reduced productivity at some of our refineries," the statement said.
The company will close its service stations, jet fuel and lubricant production in Russia.
"We will very carefully consider the safest way to do this, but the process will begin immediately," the company said.
Shell will also begin phasing out Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and LNG.
"This is a complex task. Changing this part of the energy system will require concerted action by governments, energy suppliers and consumers, and the transition to other energy sources will take much longer," Shell said.
The announcement follows Shell's decision last week that the company intends to end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project and withdraw from an equity partnership with Gazprom and related companies.
Russia has reportedly overtaken Iran and North Korea to become the most subsanctioned state in the world because of its invasion of Ukraine.
On Monday, U.S. media reported that the Biden administration was ready to impose a ban on Russian oil imports to the United States without the involvement of allies in Europe.
