ExxonMobil also leaves Russia. First BP, Equinr and Shell and now also the US oil group cut ties with Moscow. The list of companies taking a stand against the invasion of Ukraine is growing day by day. According to reports from Ansa, Eni is also ready to say goodbye to Russia. But not only the energy giants, there is a real mass exodus from commercial activities in Russia: Apple and Google, Maersk, Volvo as well as the film companies abandon projects, investments, ten-year joint ventures to close the grip around Putin.
ExxonMobil leaves Russia after decades of close ties
US oil and gas giant ExxonMobil has announced it will no longer invest in the country and will pull out of its latest major oil and gas project in Russia. Sakhalin-1 in the Russian Far East. “We deplore Russia's military action that violates Ukraine's territorial integrity and endangers its people,” the company said in a statement it will confront Wall Street analysts on Wednesday, March 2. .
Exxon has a long history of close ties to Russia with corporate interests that sometimes diverge from US foreign policy priorities. But Exxon's footprint in Russia has shrunk in recent years, largely due to US sanctions imposed on Russia after theinvasion of the Crimea in 2014.
However, the American oil giant has continued to manage the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project since 1995, on behalf of a consortium made up of subsidiaries of the Russian company Rosneft, an Indian and a Japanese company, which is located in the far east of the country, and owns 30%. A technologically difficult operation that has yielded tens of billions of dollars to the Russian government.
After Exxon had already begun evacuating its US employees from Russia, it now says it is "beginning the process to shut down operations and develop exit steps," jeopardizing the fate of a multi-billion-dollar natural gas facility. lng).
Because it is the operator of the project, not just an investor, the company says the process "will need to be closely coordinated with co-venturers to ensure it is done safely."
"Exxon's Russian business is relatively small in the context of its larger enterprise, so it doesn't have the same significance it has for BP or TotalEnergies, should it abandon its Russian businesses," said Anish Kapadia, director of energy research and mines by Pallissy Advisors.
In its latest annual report, ExxonMobil valued its assets in Russia at around $4 billion (out of a total of $217 billion).
BP, Equin, Shell and TotalEnergies: the energy big names fleeing Moscow
On February 27, the British giant Bp announced the exit from its stake in Russia's largest oil company, Rosneft, in which BP held a 19,75% stake, valued at an estimated $14 billion at the end of last year. A decision also accompanied by the "with immediate effect" resignation of the managing director Bernard Looney from the board of Rosneft.
The Norwegian is also on the same line Equinor (formerly Statoil) which on 28 February decided to interrupt new investments in Russia and to start a process of exiting existing joint ventures with Russian companies.
On the same day also the British Shell announced its decision to abandon its joint ventures with Gazprom and related businesses (worth $3 billion); including its 27,5% stake in Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas plant and 50% stake in Salym Petroleum Development and Gydan Energy Firm. The British multinational has also expressed its intention to terminate its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, in which it holds a 10% stake worth $1 billion.
Then it was the turn of the French Total Energy, which on March XNUMX announced a halt to the provision of capital for new projects in Russia. The Transalpine company said it was ready "to support the sanctions put in place by Europe" and that it will implement them "regardless of the consequences - under evaluation - on its activities in Russia".
Eni also wants to break with Russia
The presence of the 6-legged dog in Russia dates back to the 60s of the last century, when Eni began importing the first crude oil into Italy, since then the network of its investments and agreements with Russian companies has expanded greatly. Even if his presence had already frozen due to the international sanctions imposed since 2014.
Yesterday evening, Ansa reported the statement of a spokesman for the group, according to which, "as regards the joint and equal participation with Gazprom in Blue Stream gas pipeline, which connects Russia to Turkey across the Black Sea, Eni intends to proceed with the sale of its stake (50%)".
Furthermore, the Italian public investee is also a partner of Rosneft for the realization of exploration projects in the Russian Barents Sea and in the Black Sea. It also supplies wholesale gas directly to Russia, to be precise 2,47 billion cubic meters in 2020 .
Eni is also active in the Russian retail market, with a service station on the road linking Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport and the city centre. E It operates in the wholesale lubricants market through its subsidiary Eni Nefto. And so also Eni, like ExxonMobil, is leaving Russia.
