The decision to pull out of Russia following its invasion of Ukraine will cost Shell as much as $5 billion, the international energy giant warned on Thursday.
Shell’s Russia writedown comes in more than previously disclosed, while soaring oil and gas prices boosted trading activities in the first quarter.
The reduced value of Russian assets, credit losses and “onerous” contract terms will cut earnings for the first three months of the year by between $4 billion and $5 billion, London-based Shell said Thursday.
The post-tax impairments in the first quarter will not impact the company’s earnings, the company said in an update ahead of its earnings announcement on May 5.
Shell, whose market capitalization is around $210 billion, had previously said the Russia writedowns would reach around $3.4 billion. The increase was due to additional potential impacts around contracts, writedowns of receivables, and credit losses in Russia, a Shell spokesperson said.
Shell said last month that it was “appalled” by the invasion of Ukraine as it announced plans to exit joint ventures with Russian state-owned energy company Gazprom.
Those assets alone were valued at about $3 billion at the end of last year, according to Shell’s annual report.
The company later said it would stop buying Russian oil and withdraw from any involvement with Russian hydrocarbons “regardless of their financial implications.”
Shell shares were down 1.2% at the start of London trading on Thursday.
The start of 2022 marked one of the most turbulent periods in decades for the oil and gas industry as Western companies including Shell rapidly pulled out of Russia, severing trading ties and winding down joint ventures following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
Shell said it will exit all its Russian operations, including a major liquefied natural gas plant in the Sakhalin peninsula on the eastern flank of the country.
The company did not provide any guidance on the future of its stakes in Russian projects.
Shell’s decision came as the U.K. joined governments around the world in imposing sanctions on Russian companies, banks and wealthy individuals in an effort to pressure President Vladimir Putin to withdraw his forces from Ukraine.
Energy companies are under pressure to cut ties with Russia because oil and natural gas exports are crucial to financing the Kremlin and its military.
Benchmark oil prices soared to an average of more than $100 a barrel in the quarter, their highest since 2014, while European gas prices hit a record high.
The unprecedented volatility in commodity prices in recent months has pushed several traders to the brink as they scrambled to sharply increase down payments for oil and LNG cargos.
Shell, the world’s largest liquefied natural gas trader, said earnings from LNG trading were expected to be higher in the quarter compared with the previous three months. Earnings from oil trading are set to be “significantly higher” in the quarter.
Cash flow in the quarter would be negatively impacted by “very significant” outflows of around $7 billion as a result of changes in the value of oil and gas inventories.
Shell’s fuel sales averaged 4.3 million barrels per day (bpd) in the quarter, down from 4.45 million bpd in the previous quarter, Shell said. LNG liquefaction volumes were slightly higher in the quarter, averaging 8 million tons.
