Ukraine: Shell STILL taking oil off Russia
Ukraine’s government has branded Shell ‘deplorable’ after accusing it of using an ‘accounting trick’ to keep buying Russian oil.
Officials in Kyiv said Western companies were continuing to ‘bankroll Putin’s war machine’ despite promising to cut ties with the Kremlin.
In a letter sent to Shell boss Ben van Beurden, seen by the Wall Street Journal, Ukrainian economic adviser Oleg Ustenko said it was a ‘national shame for many governments and institutions that are financing these aggressions towards us’.
‘Deplorable’: Shell said earlier this month it would stop buying Russian oil, but it was legally obliged to take delivery of crude which derived from contracts signed before the invasion
He added: ‘The notion that any company will continue to bankroll Putin’s war machine through an accounting trick is deplorable.’
Shell said earlier this month it would stop buying Russian oil, but it was legally obliged to take delivery of crude which derived from contracts signed before the invasion.
When it comes to refined oil-based products, such as diesel, Shell only defines them as Russian if 50 per cent or more of the blend is from the country. This leaves the door open to Shell trading products where 49.9 per cent of the blend is of Russian origin.
A spokesman for the British oil giant said: ‘Since Shell announced its plan to withdraw from Russian hydrocarbons on March 8, we have not bought products exported from Russia for blending to be sold on as ‘non-Russian’.
‘We have stopped all spot purchases of Russian crude and liquefied natural gas, and eliminated the vast majority of spot purchases of refined products that may contain a proportion of Russian fuel that was blended in further up the supply chain.’