IOC suspensions could disrupt progress of key Russian projects
Major oil and gas companies have either suspended their operations in Russia or decided to exit the country amid the Russia-Ukraine crisis, according to GlobalData. The leading data and analytics company notes that this will leave significant technological voids that could be hard for other Russian companies to fill.
Russia’s oil and gas sector depends heavily on the technologies of Western countries, especially for its hard-to-recover oil and offshore projects. Europe is also the major market for Russia’s oil and natural gas exports and its main source for revenue. The region accounted for nearly half of Russia’s total oil and natural gas exports in 2021, while the US contributed to 4% of its crude oil exports.
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GlobalData identifies some of the major oil and gas companies that have been impacted by the crisis:
BP announced that it plans to divest its 19.7% stake in Rosneft—a move which is expected to cost the company $25 billion. BP will also exit its three joint ventures in Russia, with a carrying value of $1.4 billion at the end of 2021.
Shell intends to exit its partnerships with Gazprom and associated entities—including its 27.5% stake in the Sakhalin-II, a major liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. It also plans to divest its 50% stake in the Salym Petroleum Development NV, and the Gydan, its joint ventures with Gazprom Neft in Western Siberia.
The company has withdrawn from the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project, and it has now come to a halt. It was intended to supply natural gas from Russia to Germany. Shell had approximately $3 billion in non-current assets in these ventures in Russia at the end of 2021.
ExxonMobil announced its decision to suspend its operations in Russia and divest its 30% stake in the Sakhalin-1 venture. It also decided not to make new investments in the country. ExxonMobil’s operations in Russia were valued at $4.1 billion at the end of 2021.
Norwegian energy major Equinor halted new investments into its business in Russia and began the process of exiting from its joint ventures. The company had $1.2 billion in non-current assets in Russia at the end of 2021.
OMV
After revaluating its presence in Russia, OMV decided not to pursue any future investments in the country amid the ongoing crisis. The company intends to review its 24.99% interest in Yuzhno Russkoye, which comprises all options including possibilities to divest or exit.
OMV expects a total value adjustment of EUR1.5 billion to EUR1.8 billion, including EUR987 million of unrecoverable receivables from Nord Stream 2 AG. OMV terminated all negotiations with Gazprom regarding the potential acquisition of a 24.98% stake in blocks 4A/5A of the Achimov-formation in the Urengoy gas and condensate field.
TotalEnergies
One major oil and gas company that is continuing its operations in Russia is TotalEnergies. While the company intends to keep its existing operations in the country, it has decided not to provide capital for new projects. The company holds a 19.4% interest in Novatek, a 20.02% interest in the Yamal LNG project—which Chinese banks are sponsoring—and a 10% interest in Arctic LNG 2, which is scheduled to start production in 2023.
Sanctions imposed on Russia
Russia is exploring alternative mechanisms to attract long-term strategic partners such as China and India to mitigate the impact of sanctions on its energy sector.
The country is reportedly considering offering crude oil at a discounted price to India in a bid to increase investments from India in its oil and gas projects. Russia is also keen to expand its downstream presence in India.
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