BP abandons Russian oil company stake, Shell pulls out of Nord Stream 2

Enlarge / A low-temperature isomerization unit at the Novokuibyshevsk Refinery, a subsidiary of Rosneft Oil Company, in the Russian city of Novokuibyshevsk. (credit: Yegor Aleyev / TASS)

Shell announced today that it would be pulling out of the stalled Nord Stream 2 pipeline and seeking to sell its stakes in various oil and gas projects in Russia as President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine grinds on.

The decision to exit the Nord Stream 2 investment comes days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz effectively killed the project by suspending its certification. The Dutch company split about half the cost of the pipeline with four other European energy companies. Gazprom, the gas company controlled by the Russian government, covered the other half. Shell also owns significant stakes in two other oil and gas projects in Russia.

Together, the moves could cost Gazprom billions of dollars if the company can't find buyers or has to take a significant write-down. Given international sentiment at the moment, the latter seems more likely. Altogether, the oil and gas projects represent about 5 percent of the company's annual production, according to the Financial Times.

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