Russia Sues Shell Units

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia’s Prosecutor General has filed a lawsuit against several subsidiaries of energy major Shell (LON:SHEL), as indicated by court documents released on Friday.

The lawsuit was submitted to Moscow’s Arbitration Court on October 2 and is directed at eight Shell subsidiaries. According to the documents, the suit was initiated by Gazprom (MCX:GAZP) Export, the Russian energy ministry, regional authorities from the Pacific island of Sakhalin, Sakhalin Energy, and the office of the Prosecutor General of Russia.

No further details about the lawsuit have been provided, and Shell has not responded to inquiries for comments.

Shell had multiple projects in Russia prior to the escalation of the conflict in Ukraine in February 2022, which Russia characterized as a “special military operation.”

The company maintained a stake in a liquefied natural gas production facility located on Sakhalin Island, operated by Gazprom. Following sanctions imposed by the West, Russia tightened its control over the facility, leading to Shell’s withdrawal from the country. Consequently, Shell ended its participation in the Sakhalin plant, as well as its other endeavors such as the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.