Oil major Royal Dutch Shell will put profits from any Russian oil that it purchases into a fund that will go towards humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the company announced on Saturday.
On Friday, Shell had bought a cargo of Russian crude oil at a record-low discount – the first such trade since Russia invaded Ukraine last week.
The deal, which did not violate Western sanctions on Moscow, was criticised by Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba.
‘I am told Shell discreetly bought some Russian oil yesterday. One question to @Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell [of] Ukrainian blood for you?’ Kuleba wrote in a tweet.
Shell Defends Purchase
In a statement published shortly afterwards, Shell defended the purchase and announced that it would choose alternatives to Russian oil wherever possible, but this could not happen overnight because of how significant Russia is to global supply.
It added, ‘We didn’t take this decision lightly, and we understand the strength of feeling around it.’
Shell announced that it would give any profits from the limited amount of Russian oil that it has to purchase to a dedicated fund and, together with aid agencies, would determine where those funds would best be used, to help alleviate hardship suffered by the people of Ukraine.
Russian exporters have in recent days faced severe problems with credit lines, shipping and insurance, resulting in delays and cancellations to their attempts to find buyers for Russian crude.
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more supply chain stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
