Shell thus follows the British BP and the Norwegian Equinor, which already announced this weekend that they want to withdraw from Russia.
“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine due to a senseless act of military aggression,” chief executive Ben van Beurden said in a statement. written response† According to Van Beurden, the company is making the decision because it disapproves of the violence.
The company says it is working with local employees and NGOs to help affected people in Ukraine.
At the end of last year, Shell had approximately 3 billion dollars (2.7 billion euros) in assets in Russia. The company’s interests include a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Russia and the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
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Moral decision
The company now wants to get rid of all those projects. “They can hardly do otherwise,” says stock commentator Durk Veenstra. “Morally, this is the right decision.” It is of secondary importance that losses are incurred as a result.
Shell expects that the sale of the interests will yield less than what is on its books and that it will therefore suffer a loss on the decision.
The question is how big the damage will be, says Veenstra. “The interests are now put in a separate corner on the balance sheet,” he says. To be able to take that damage into account in advance. “Shell will have to write off it, but it will not lead to an official loss.”
According to Shell, this decision does not change the company’s strategy or its plans for paying dividends. According to Veenstra, it even fits in with the company’s ambitions to become more sustainable.
It also means that the pressure on laggards, such as ExxonMobil, is growing. “They need to take this seriously.”
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