Shell still trading Russian gas despite pledge to stop

Shell is inactive trading Russian state much than a twelvemonth aft pledging to retreat from the Russian vigor market.

The institution was progressive successful astir an eighth of Russia's shipborne state exports successful 2022, according to investigation from run radical Global Witness.

Oleg Ustenko, an advisor to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, accused Shell of accepting "blood money".

Shell said the trades were the effect of "long-term contractual commitments" and bash not interruption laws oregon sanctions.

As precocious arsenic 9 May, a immense tanker susceptible of carrying much than 160,000 cubic metres of state compressed into liquid signifier - liquefied earthy state oregon LNG - pulled retired of the larboard of Sabetta, connected the Yamal peninsula successful Russia's acold north.

That cargo was purchased by Shell earlier heading onwards to its eventual destination, Hong Kong.

It is 1 of 8 LNG cargoes that Shell has bought from Yamal this year, according to information from the Kpler database analysed by Global Witness.

Last twelvemonth Shell accounted for 12% of Russia's seaborne LNG trade, Global Witness calculates, and was among the apical 5 traders of Russian-originated LNG that year.

It said that it would halt buying Russian oil, merchantability its work stations and different businesses successful Russia,which it has done. It has besides ended its associated ventures with the authorities vigor elephantine Gazprom.

And it said it would commencement a "phased withdrawal from Russian petroleum products, pipeline state and LNG". But it warned that it would beryllium a "complex challenge".

Since then, it has kept taking cargoes of LNG from 2 Russian ports, the 1 astatine Yamal and 1 astatine Sakhalin successful the acold east.

Shell utilized to beryllium a number capitalist successful the Sakhalin state project, but abandoned that assertion successful September past twelvemonth aft the Russian authorities transferred its shares to a section concern - and since past has taken nary state from Sakhalin.

But it inactive honours the declaration with the Russian LNG institution Novatek, which obliges it to bargain 900,000 tonnes a twelvemonth from Yamal until the 2030s, according to the Reuters quality agency.

Novatek is Russia's 2nd biggest state company, and the taxes it pays are a important contributor to the Russian government's budget.

Oleg Ustenko, an advisor to the Ukrainian president, said: "It is rather simple: by continuing to commercialized successful Russian state Shell is putting wealth into Putin's pockets and helping to money Russia's brutal aggression against the radical of Ukraine.

"The immense sums that Shell and the full lipid manufacture person made successful Russia should beryllium utilized to assistance money the reconstruction of Ukraine, alternatively than lining the pockets of their shareholders."

A spokesperson for Shell said: "Shell has stopped buying Russian LNG connected the spot market, but inactive has immoderate semipermanent contractual commitments. This is successful afloat compliance with sanctions, applicable laws and regulations of the countries successful which we operate.

"There is simply a dilemma betwixt putting unit connected the Russian authorities implicit its atrocities successful Ukraine and ensuring stable, unafraid vigor supplies. It is for governments to determine connected the incredibly hard trade-offs that indispensable beryllium made."

Shell is the world's largest trader of LNG, which is not taxable to European sanctions, making billions of dollars successful profits trading lipid and state past year.

Russia massively reduced its deliveries of state by pipeline past year, but it has accrued the magnitude of state it supplies by ship, including to Europe.

The UK has not imported immoderate Russian state for implicit a year, portion EU politicians are trying to trim the magnitude of Russian LNG the bloc imports. In March, the EU's Energy Commissioner Kadri Simson called connected countries and firms to halt buying Russian gas, and not to motion caller contracts.

"It's agelong overdue that the trading of Russian LNG is looked astatine with the aforesaid disgust arsenic Russian lipid trading. Targeting Putin's vigor income cannot beryllium astir symbolic measures but indispensable concretely enactment a halt to the immense fossil substance sums that cement his power," said Jonathan Noronha-Gant, elder campaigner astatine Global Witness.

The France-based vigor institution TotalEnergies is simply a number shareholder successful the Yamal project, and was besides a large trader successful Russian LNG, the Global Witness investigation reported.

The BBC has approached TotalEnergies for comment.