Shell joins BP in selling Russian assets as pressure on Kremlin-linked firms grows

Shell is to exit its joint ventures with Russian state energy firm Gazprom, a day after BP said it would offload its 20% stake in Kremlin-owned oil firm Rosneft, as British businesses scrambled to distance themselves from Vladimir Putin.

The planned sales include its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, its 50% stake in the Salym Petroleum Development and the Gydan energy venture.

At the end of 2021, Shell had around $3bn in non-current assets in its Russian ventures.

This could indicate that the cost of exiting its Russian joint venture will exceed $3bn, given the costs Shell may incur in physically extricating itself from the vast, technically challenging Sakhalin-2 project, which requires expert personnel and highly specialised equipment.