SLB, the biggest oilfield services firm in the world, is halting all shipments of products and technology into Russia from all SLB facilities worldwide, in response to the continued expansion of international sanctions-more than a year after other major Western oilfield services providers and oil and gas producers abandoned their Russian operations.
The other major oilfield services providers, Baker Hughes and Halliburton, sold their Russian businesses last year, while Big Oil - including Exxon, Shell, and BP - ended new investments in Russia and said they would be looking to exit the Russian market as soon as applicable regulations allow.
SLB, formerly known as Schlumberger, however, only "voluntary measures to curtail its Russian activity and announced that it would make no new investments in Russia and would not deploy new technology used in its services business."
"SLB takes its responsibility to comply with export control and economic sanction laws extremely seriously, and the company remains aligned with the international community in condemning and calling for an end to the war in Ukraine," the firm said in the statement announcing a halt to shipments of equipment and technology to Russia.
Earlier this year, Ukraine's National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) included SLB in the list of international war sponsors.
"The American company SLB plays a critical role for the aggressor state, occupying 8% of the Russian oil service market," the Ukrainian government said in April.
To compare, Baker Hughes signed in August last year an agreement to sell its Oilfield Services business in Russia to its local management team.
A month later, Halliburton announced it completed the sale of its Russia operations to a Russia-based management team made up of former Halliburton employees. As a result, Halliburton no longer conducts operations in Russia. The new Baker Hughes and Halliburton businesses in Russia operate independently of their former parent companies.
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
Charles is a writer for Oilprice.com More