Shell Still Trading Russian Gas Despite Vow To Stop

Shell is still trading Russian gas more than a year after pledging to withdraw from the Russian energy market.

Photo Insert: Last year, Shell accounted for 12% of Russia's seaborne LNG trade, Global Witness calculates, and was among the top five traders of Russian-originated LNG that year.

The company was involved in nearly an eighth of Russia's shipborne gas exports in 2022, according to analysis from campaign group Global Witness, Ben King reported for BBC News.

Oleg Ustenko, an adviser to Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, accused Shell of accepting "blood money." Shell said the trades were the result of "long-term contractual commitments" and do not violate laws or sanctions.

As recently as May 9, a vast tanker capable of carrying more than 160,000 cubic meters of gas compressed into liquid form - liquefied natural gas (LNG) - pulled out of the port of Sabetta, on the Yamal peninsula in Russia's far north.

That cargo was purchased by Shell before heading onwards to its ultimate destination, Hong Kong. It is one of eight LNG cargoes that Shell has bought from Yamal this year, according to data from the Kpler database analyzed by Global Witness.

Last year, Shell accounted for 12% of Russia's seaborne LNG trade, Global Witness calculates, and was among the top five traders of Russian-originated LNG that year. In March 2022, in the weeks following the invasion of Ukraine, Shell apologized for buying a cargo of Russian oil and said it intended to withdraw from Russian oil and gas.

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