By John Donovan
Russian energy minister Alexander Novak boasted earlier today that Shell (and ExxonMobil) are expanding operations in Russia and the Russian Foreign Ministry has said energy cooperation should not be damaged by political tensions. See extracts below from a RIA Novosti article.
What the Putin regime is claiming is in absolute accordance with what the Royal Dutch Shell CEO Ben van Beurden was saying on Tuesday at the Shell AGM. He bluntly made it clear that Shell’s priority is what is in the economic interests of Shell shareholders, not geopolitical concerns i.e. the invasion of Crimea. That explains why he happily bowed to Putin on Good Friday after the annexation. Ethics and moral issues are put to one side.