A Russian court has ruled that a partnership in Russia in which Shell is a half member must come under Moscow’s control. This is reported by the Russian news agency Interfax.
Read all the news about the war in Ukraine in our file.
It concerns Salym Petroleum Development (SPD), a joint venture between Shell and Gazprom Neft. The latter is the oil branch of the Russian state gas group Gazprom. Shell and Gazprom Neft each have a 50 percent stake in the joint venture, which develops fields in western Siberia.
The Russian newspaper Kommersant reported last week that Gazprom Neft had taken steps to bring the joint venture fully under Russian legal control. In doing so, the rights of Shell shareholders had to be suspended. The court is now freezing certain Shell rights until the end of December 2023, including voting rights.
“We are monitoring the situation and assessing our legal options,” a Shell spokesperson said. “We have no further comment at this time.”
Shell announced plans to cease operations in Russia in March when Western sanctions were imposed in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The oil and gas group had already indicated that it would have to write off billions on its activities in Russia.
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