Shell says it has stopped buying Russian oil and promises to leave the country.
The company also apologized for buying from Russia last week after saying it would no longer do business in the country.
Reuters - Shell (SHEL.L) stopped buying Russian oil on Tuesday (8) and said it will gradually phase out its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons, from oil to natural gas over Ukraine, becoming one of the first major Western oil companies to leave Russia.
Although Russian oil and gas have so far been exempt from Western sanctions, oil rose above $139 a barrel on Monday, reaching its highest level since July 2008, when the United States and European allies began considering banning Russian oil imports.
US lawmakers called for bans, but President Joe Biden's administration sanctioned only Russian tankers. Britain and Canada also banned Russian ships from arriving at their ports in protest against Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Shell apologized on Tuesday for buying Russian oil last week after saying it would withdraw its Russian operations, including the Sakhalin 2 LNG plant in which it holds a 27,5% stake and which is operated by Gazprom.
"We are fully aware that our decision last week to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil... was not the right one, and we regret it," said Chief Executive Ben van Beurden.
Shell bought a shipment of Russian crude oil from Swiss trader Trafigura at a record low of minus $28,50 a barrel, traders said on Friday.
British rival BP said last month it was abandoning its 19,75% stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft (ROSN.MM) in an abrupt move that could cost up to $25 billion.
TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA) chief executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Monday that the French company had stopped buying oil from Russia, although one of its landlocked refineries in Germany continued to receive Russian oil via pipeline.
Shell said it would change its crude oil supply chain to remove volumes from Russia "as quickly as possible" and would close its service stations in Russia, as well as its aviation fuel and lubricant operations in the country.
The company said the supply chain change could take weeks to complete and lead to reduced production at some of its refineries, while the withdrawal of Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) will be phased.
The company also plans to end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Germany and which it helped finance as part of a consortium.
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