Shell To Send Profits From Russian Oil Trading To Ukraine Aid Fund

The Royal Dutch Shell logo at a Shell petrol station in London on January 31, 2008. REUTERS/Toby Melville/File Photo

LONDON, March 5 – Oil major Royal Dutch Shell (SHEL.L) will donate profits from any purchase of Russian oil to a fund that will go to humanitarian aid to Ukraine, the company said on Saturday.

Shell on Friday bought a shipment of Russian crude oil at a record low discount, the first such deal since Russia invaded Ukraine last week. More

The deal, which did not violate Western sanctions against Moscow, was criticized by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba.

“I was told that Shell secretly bought Russian oil yesterday. One question for @Shell: doesn’t Russian oil smell like Ukrainian blood to you?” Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

In a statement released shortly after, Shell defended the purchase and said it would choose alternatives to Russian oil wherever possible, but this could not happen overnight due to how important Russia is to global supplies.

He added: “We did not take this decision lightly and we understand the strength of feeling around it.”

Shell said it would funnel any profits from the limited amount of Russian oil it has to buy into a special fund and work with aid agencies to determine where the funds can best be used to alleviate the suffering of the people of Ukraine.

Russian exporters have faced serious problems with credit lines, shipping and insurance in recent days, causing delays and cancellations in their attempts to find buyers for Russian oil. More

Reporting by Ron Busso; Editing by David Holmes

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