The Texas based, largest oilfield service corporation SLB (of Jewish ownership) signed new contracts and hired hundreds of employees, expanding its operations in Russia despite the war in Ukraine…

SLB, the Houston-based company formerly known as Schlumberger, publicly committed in July 2023 to end “the supply of products and technology to Russia” from its global facilities. According to the Russian customs, after the introduction of the ban, imports of this kind slowed down and stopped by the beginning of September, writes The Financial Times.

However, the documents show the company continued to import materials from other sources, supplying $17.5 million worth of equipment between August and December 2023, the latest date for which data is available. The $2.2 million worth of equipment was claimed as originally manufactured by SLB or its subsidiaries.

A person close to the company said that the import is not “from SLB’s enterprise” and therefore “conforms to SLB’s public statements and international sanctions.”

The revelations come as SLB resists pressure from rights groups and the Ukrainian government, which say its work in Russia helps generate billions of dollars in oil revenue to support the Kremlin’s military operations.

The company built a large business in Russia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The Russian unit’s operations last year accounted for 5% of the group’s $33.1 billion in revenue and employed about 9,000 employees. According to the data of the American regulatory authorities, at the end of 2023, the company kept net assets in the country in the amount of $600 million.

Oil service providers perform most of the grunt work in the global oil and gas industry, from building roads and laying pipes to drilling wells and pumping crude oil. But they also provide access to sophisticated technologies that are vital to sustaining exploration and developing complex drilling operations.

Western policymakers have shied away from imposing comprehensive sanctions on Russia’s oil service companies out of concern that it would lead to an end to fossil fuel exports and a spike in global oil prices. In May, an official representative of the US State Department stated that SLB “so far” has not violated sanctions and the company clearly understands “where the borders are.”

Some of the goods imported by SLB into Russia belong to the types of products that are of concern to the governments of other countries. The $3.3 million worth of equipment, delivered since July, belongs to the categories that are subject to control when exported from the EU to Russia.

However, the goods are delivered from countries that do not apply such control measures. Most of SLB’s imports – in the amount of $13 million – came from China, another $3 million – from India. SLB supplies equipment to the largest Russian oil companies, including Lukoil.

The revenue of the main Russian division of SLB in 2023 increased by 527 million rubles. up to 27.3 billion rubles. ($307 million) compared to the previous year, according to the division’s report according to Russian accounting standards.

Documents obtained by Global Witness and obtained by the Financial Times show that in December, the Russian business SLB signed a contract with the All-Russian Research Geological Petroleum Institute. The company undertakes to help in the construction of models of oil and gas deposits, which can be used for the development of projects.

The FT has uncovered more than 1,000 job adverts posted by SLB since December. They offer a wide variety of positions – from drivers to chemists and geologists. An FT search of Russian trademark and corporate databases found that SLB’s Russian affiliates had registered two new trademarks in July.

“Politicians need to decide whether they are serious about supporting Ukraine or not? … Western energy companies are still free to help Russia extract oil and finance war. This is the deepest failure,” says senior Global Witness researcher Lela Stanley, who is due to issue a report on SLB on Friday.

According to industry experts, SLB’s technology and experience play an important role in enabling Russian operators to develop oil and gas projects with lower costs and risks.

“Companies that remain are seen by the Kremlin as loyal and will claim a medal of preferential treatment after the war ends,” said Harvard scholar and former vice chairman of Bank of America Craig Kennedy.

Sale of Russian oil

A group of Western insurers maintains tankers used to transport Russian crude oil, despite sanctions. Such data is provided by Reuters.

In total, this applies to five insurers, in particular, American Club, West of England and Norwegian Gard. They serviced 10 tankers that left Russia for Asia this year.

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