By Nathalie Voit

 

British-based oil giant Shell announced it would quit its investments in Kremlin-owned natural gas entity Gazprom on Feb. 28, just one day after BP announced it would offload its nearly 20% stake in Russian-state controlled oil firm Rosneft.

 

Shell said it would exit its joint ventures with Gazprom in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in a media release published on Monday. Shell’s 27.5 percent stake in the Sakhalin-II liquefied natural gas facility, 50 percent stake in the Salym Petroleum Development, and the Gydan energy venture are among the equity partnerships being dissolved.

 

Shell also said it would end its involvement in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, of which Gazprom is the sole shareholder.

 

“We are shocked by the loss of life in Ukraine, which we deplore, resulting from a senseless act of military aggression which threatens European security,” Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said in the statement.

 

The news comes following Germany’s decision to shelf the $11 billion gas pipeline project. The 750-mile export pipeline was set to run from Russia to northern Germany through the Baltic Sea, according to Gazprom.

 

At a press conference in Berlin last week, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced his decision to halt the Nord Stream 2 certification process so that the undersea pipeline “cannot go into operation.”

 

“The situation today is fundamentally different, and therefore, in light of recent events, we must reassess the situation with regard to Nord Stream 2,” Chancellor Olaf Scholz said regarding his decision to ask the German economy ministry to withdraw final certification status for the pipeline, according to Politico EU.

 

Europe’s largest oil company is joining BP in boycotting Russian state-backed energy firms following the Kremlin’s blanket “act of aggression” on Ukraine.

 

In a press release published on Sunday, BP said it would divest its 19.75% shareholding stake in Rosneft, the Moscow-owned oil firm. 

 

“Russia’s attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region. BP has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with brilliant Russian colleagues,” BP Chair Helge Lund said in the statement. “However, this military action represents a fundamental change. It has led the BP board to conclude, after a thorough process, that our involvement with Rosneft, a state-owned enterprise, simply cannot continue.”

 

Moscow supplies about 41% of the continent’s natural gas, according to Eurostat.