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German Economy Minister Robert Habeck signaled a possible change of control at the country’s Schwedt oil refinery that’s run by Russian state-backed producer Rosneft PJSC.
The oil-processing plant, which currently relies on crude piped from Russia, will need to bring in alternative deliveries via the German port of Rostock as it reduces reliance on Russian energy, Habeck said in a video published Wednesday by his ministry. Germany also needs additional support from Poland in securing delivery of oil and that was the reason for Habeck’s visit to Warsaw on Tuesday, he said.
Poland has signaled it won’t agree to having its infrastructure used to supply Schwedt if it means “keeping Rosneft alive,” he said in the video. That’s an indication that Germany may strip control of the refinery from Rosneft. Germany and Poland still have some technical details to resolve before a final deal, he said...
One option would be for non-Russian crude supplies to be piped to Schwedt from the port of Gdansk in northern Poland via Plock in the center of the country.
Germany, which is also heavily reliant on Russian coal and natural gas, is currently pushing legislation through parliament that will give the government powers to put critical energy infrastructure under temporary state control. As a last resort, such infrastructure could be appropriated by the state...
The ownership of the Schwedt plant has been uncertain for months. Rosneft’s plan to buy a stake in the refinery from Shell Plc hadn’t completed before the war with Ukraine started. Eni SpA is also a shareholder in the site.
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Ukraine: Global outrage over Russian invasion leads to sanctions, demands for businesses to divest
The associations accuse TotalEnergies of indirectly contributing to the Russian war effort by continuing to exploit a deposit after military aggressions started in Ukraine.
After The Insider’s initial report regarding supplies to the Russian military was made public, Auchan executives promptly issued a response refuting any association with the supplies or assistance provided by their regional stores to volunteers collecting aid for the mobilized. However, recent evidence, comprising documents, photos, and videos, being released by The Insider, reveals that Auchan was fully aware of the destination of the goods and actively participated in concealing the supplies intended for the Defense Ministry as regular commercial sales to private entities.
The West had sought to largely ground the country’s carriers, but they continue to operate by skirting global rules and cannibalizing older planes for parts.
One year into Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine, as western companies flee the country, fearful of the reputational and legal risk of continuing to do business there, Raiffeisen finds itself stuck.
Tools, cigarettes and clothes sold by French retailer Auchan supply Russian soldiers on the Ukrainian front, sometimes with the complicity of its Russian subsidiary.
A US oil multinational funded by the Scottish Government exported oil and gas drilling equipment from Montrose to Russia three months after ministers called on businesses in Scotland to cease trading with the country.
European dependence on Russian oil and gas enabled the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It can be ended only by breaking the chains of global addiction to fossil fuels and ending the political and economic dominance of oil majors.
"A complaint against TotalEnergies by two associations for “war crimes complicity” for allegedly helping produce fuel for Russian warplanes that have bombed Ukraine has been shelved by prosecutors."
According to research by ZDF and Der Spiegel, the German BASF's subsidiary Wintershall Dea supplies gas condensate to the Russian state corporation Gazprom. Gazprom, in turn, is Russia's most important producer of aviation fuel and is said to have supplied aviation fuel to two military bases suspected of being responsible for airstrikes on civilian targets.
A joint venture of the German company Wintershall Dea delivered gas condensate to Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, which in turn provided aviation fuel to two military bases believed to be behind air strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine that have been internationally criticised as possible war crimes.
Ten Greenpeace activists who blocked a tanker carrying Russian diesel have been cleared of aggravated trespass by a judge who said the war in Ukraine "could be described as terrorism".
"Two NGOs have filed a complaint against French energy giant TotalEnergies for "complicity in war crimes" for allegedly helping fuel Russian planes that have bombed Ukraine, according to French media reports."
Swedish furniture giant Ikea posted a six percent rise in full-year sales on Thursday, in what it described as a "challenging" year due to inflation and scaling back in Russia.
At midnight on August 10, the European Union’s sanctions on Russian coal came into effect. After a four-month wind-down period, it became an offense for EU entities to “purchase, import, or transfer, directly or indirectly, coal” that originates in, or is exported from, Russia.
A Global Witness investigation released today reveals that a Siberian gas field joint-owned by French oil giant TotalEnergies has been providing oil to a refinery fuelling Russian warplanes throughout the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
After Siemens had previously decided to not take on new projects in Russia and Belarus due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the company has now announced its complete withdrawal from Russia and will cease its business activities entirely.
The European Commission is proposing phasing out Russian crude oil within six months and refined oil by the end of the year, with most recent plans giving Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic longer phase-out periods.
Since the invasion of Ukraine, Prof. Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and his team have been tracking which companies have withdrawn from Russia, which are making partial moves, and which are staying put. Sonnenfeld and Steven Tian say that their goal is simple: “Every corporation with a presence in Russia must publicly commit to a total cessation of business there.”
With each day of the invasion, the pressure grows on Western companies to shutter their operations in Russia. Businesses that continue to operate there will have to withdraw sooner or later, DW's Miodrag Soric writes.
As sanctions against Russia increase, many firms have pulled out and are making active contributions, but there are questions of whether this is a one-off or the start of a larger change.
The UN Global Compact Network UK calls on the business community to act now and help civilians caught up in the devasting humanitarian crisis in Ukraine. We understand that the private sector is contending with sanctions against Russia, supply chain cost inflation, and overall instability; however, at times like this it is more important than ever for businesses to conduct human rights and environmental due diligence, putting people and planet at the heart of their actions.
Top pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and Europe said they’re halting recruitment for clinical trials in Russia, while continuing to send medicine and other health supplies to help those in need.
Many foreign companies operating in Ukraine have swiftly moved to support the country as it defends itself from the Russian invasion. Sebastian Shehadi speaks to those on the ground assisting in any way they can.
The invasion of Ukraine is causing a mass exodus of companies from Russia. Some companies have concluded that the risks, both reputational and financial, are too great to continue.
The West has moved to punish Russia with a raft of measures, including closing airspace to Russian aircraft and shutting out some Russian banks from the SWIFT global financial network.
For years, Germany's policy on Russia has been to promote political change through trade. Now, German companies with investments in Russia and in Ukraine are faced with imperiled staff and uncertainty.
Russia’s oil and gas industries have gotten a lot of attention in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, but some experts say Russia's mining interests could also complicate the U.S. response to the nation's invasion of its neighbor.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine by land, air and sea threatens to disrupt exports of commodities such as grains and oilseeds from both countries, while the prospect of toughened sanctions against Russia could disrupt energy and metals supplies.
European sports and entertainment businesses were among the first to announce such moves, including Premier League club Manchester United who withdrew the sponsorship rights of Russian airline Aeroflot.
The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC ) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) condemn Russia’s actions in Ukraine and call for peace
While the International Bar Association condemned Russia’s invasion into Ukraine, several leading law firms (Baker McKenzie, CMS, Dentons and Kinstella) have closed their local branches citing staff safety and well-being as the highest priority.
The company’s pay-out from the Sakhalin-II oil and gas fields would cover 1/10th of all the damage Russia has done to Ukraine’s energy infrastructure during the war.
A US oil multinational funded by the Scottish Government exported oil and gas drilling equipment from Montrose to Russia three months after ministers called on businesses in Scotland to cease trading with the country.
European dependence on Russian oil and gas enabled the Russian invasion of Ukraine. It can be ended only by breaking the chains of global addiction to fossil fuels and ending the political and economic dominance of oil majors.
"A complaint against TotalEnergies by two associations for “war crimes complicity” for allegedly helping produce fuel for Russian warplanes that have bombed Ukraine has been shelved by prosecutors."
According to research by ZDF and Der Spiegel, the German BASF's subsidiary Wintershall Dea supplies gas condensate to the Russian state corporation Gazprom. Gazprom, in turn, is Russia's most important producer of aviation fuel and is said to have supplied aviation fuel to two military bases suspected of being responsible for airstrikes on civilian targets.
A joint venture of the German company Wintershall Dea delivered gas condensate to Kremlin-controlled Gazprom, which in turn provided aviation fuel to two military bases believed to be behind air strikes against civilian targets in Ukraine that have been internationally criticised as possible war crimes.
Ten Greenpeace activists who blocked a tanker carrying Russian diesel have been cleared of aggravated trespass by a judge who said the war in Ukraine "could be described as terrorism".
"Two NGOs have filed a complaint against French energy giant TotalEnergies for "complicity in war crimes" for allegedly helping fuel Russian planes that have bombed Ukraine, according to French media reports."
State processors are collectively working on finalizing and securing new six-month supply contracts for Russian crude to India, eager to take more of the heavily-discounted stocks.
The European Commission is proposing phasing out Russian crude oil within six months and refined oil by the end of the year, with most recent plans giving Hungary, Slovakia and Czech Republic longer phase-out periods.
Duarte Cordeiro stated that the Government does not advocate any response to the energy crisis, “but one that safeguards the limits of the natural system."
Global Witness petition calling on EU, UK and US govts to sanction Russian oil, coal and gas & urgently accelerate energy transition; the organisation estimates that Western energy companies have paid almost $100bn to Russia since Crimea invasion in 2014
Lithuania says it has cut itself off entirely of gas imports from Russia, apparently becoming the first of the European Union's 27 nations using Russian gas to break its energy dependence upon Moscow
Coal demand began surging in 2021 as gas prices rose, an effect intensified by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, threatening the EU’s legally binding 2030 climate target.
The German government has been worried about being sued by the fossil fuel companies behind the Russian gas pipeline under the Energy Charter Treaty. This explains the German delay in halting Nord Stream 2 following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.