Shell Plc is planning to dissolve a partnership with Russia’s Rosneft PJSC through which the two oil giants jointly own a stake in a pipeline from Kazakhstan.
If the process is successful, Shell will still keep the stake in the Caspian Pipeline Consortium – rather than own it jointly with the sanctioned Russian energy giant, people with knowledge of the matter said, asking not to be identified because the matter is not public.
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin this week authorized the two producers to make transactions that may lead to “establishment, modification, termination, or encumbrance” of property rights in their Caspian venture.
Shell pledged back in March 2022 to withdraw from Russian oil and gas in a phased manner due to the war in Ukraine.
The Kremlin provided no explanation for the permission, raising speculation over potential changes in the shareholdering structure of the CPC project, the main export route for Kazakhstan’s oil.
Shell has no plans to quit the wider CPC venture, the people said. Shell’s total stake in CPC is 7.4 percent, according to the company’s website. That includes 3.75 percent through the venture with Rosneft, 1.75 percent through direct participation and 2 percent through its affiliate BG Overseas Holding Ltd.
A spokesman for Shell declined to comment.
CPC carries Kazakh barrels to the Black Sea coast through Russia, and its shareholders include several global oil majors, as well as Russia’s largest producers Rosneft and Lukoil PJSC, both sanctioned by the US. The Rosneft-Shell JV owns 7.4 percent in the consortium.
In the recent months, the CPC infrastructure has been a target of multiple drone attacks.
The strikes have led to temporary halts and curtailments in oil loadings, and the latest attack shut in one out of three CPC moorings, key for the facility’s operations.
Ukraine didn’t explicitly take responsibility for the attacks, although Kazakhstan’s Foreign Ministry said it was in touch with Ukrainian officials via diplomatic channels over the incidents.
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