The world’s largest oil service company SLB (formerly Schlumberger – socialbites.ca note) does not plan to withdraw its business from Russia, despite pressure from Ukraine. In an interview with the publication on this subject Finance Times said Olivier Le Peuch, the company’s managing director.
According to the Kiev School of Economics, of the 2,023 foreign companies operating in Russia by 2022, only 372 will fully remain, SLB is not one of them. Oil service companies were hesitant to leave Russia after February 2022 amid mass exodus from Russia. However, the West’s second and third largest oil services companies, Baker Hughes and Halliburton, announced plans to leave later that year after the US imposed sanctions.
“We haven’t made a decision. When we accept it, we will make it public,” Le Peuch said.
Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, SLB has built a large business in Russia; this contributed to around 5% of the group’s $33.1 billion in revenue last year and employed around 9,000 staff. The newspaper writes that the company had $600 million in net assets at book value in the country at the end of 2023, according to U.S. regulatory filings.
He claims that Russian business will operate autonomously “behind the scenes” without technology procurement after July 2023.
“Russian oil industry will collapse without foreign oil service companies,” says Lela Stanley, senior researcher at Global Witness
But these fears are exaggerated, according to Harvard economist and former Bank of America Vice President Craig Kennedy.
“Russia can sustain production without Western technology; it’s just more expensive,” Kennedy said.
Last month, Mondelez CEO Dirk Van de Put stated Not a single shareholder asked the chocolate maker to leave Russia.
Chanel started before to reject From renting a boutique in Russia.