The chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee has requested an explanation from the top three oilfield services companies in the country regarding their decision to continue doing business in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.
He has also demanded that they commit to stopping all investments in Russia’s fossil fuel infrastructure. Senator Bob Menendez, a Democrat from New Jersey, referenced a report by the Associated Press which revealed that these companies – SLB, Baker Hughes, and Halliburton – played a role in ensuring the uninterrupted flow of Russian oil, despite sanctions being imposed on Russia’s war efforts.
Customs data obtained by B4Ukraine and verified by The AP showed that Russia imported over $200 million worth of technology from these three companies in the year following the invasion in February 2022.
Notably, SLB, the market leader formerly known as Schlumberger, even experienced slight growth in its Russian business. Experts have stated that if all U.S. oilfield services companies had withdrawn, Russia’s oil production would have immediately suffered, as a significant portion of its oil reserves are difficult to access. In his letters to the CEOs of these companies, Menendez expressed great concern over the AP’s findings.
He pointed out that President Joe Biden and Congress had imposed comprehensive sanctions due to Russia’s violation of another nation’s sovereignty. Menendez described Russia’s invasion as particularly atrocious, with its soldiers’ committing tens of thousands of acts of brutality.
The letter, dated July 27, concluded by stating that as people worldwide were making sacrifices in solidarity with Ukraine, these companies chose to prioritize profit. Menendez emphasized that there was no valid justification for their behavior other than financial gain.
There is no evidence to suggest that any of the firms violated sanctions by continuing to send equipment to Russia. Halliburton ceased its Russia operations within six months of the invasion, while Baker Hughes sold its oilfield services business in Russia after approximately nine months. SLB announced its decision to stop exporting technology to Russia two days after AP requested final comment on its first report in July.
In contrast, oil majors such as Shell and BP announced their intention to withdraw from Russia within days or weeks of the invasion, resulting in the write-off of billions of dollars.
SLB spokeswoman Moira Duff declined to comment on conversations with elected officials or regulators following receipt of Menendez’s letter and did not respond to questions regarding future investment in Russia. As of this spring, SLB had 9,000 employees in Russia, and in July, Duff confirmed that the company still had employees in the country.
On September 1, she stated that, in general, “nothing has changed” since July, when the company insisted it had followed all laws and condemned the war. However, she declined to discuss the number of employees SLB still has in Russia.
A Baker Hughes spokeswoman confirmed receipt of Menendez’s letter and stated that the company was addressing the concerns “directly with his office.”
Halliburton spokesman Brad Leone stated via email that the firm was the first major oilfield services company to exit Russia in compliance with sanctions. “It has been more than a year since we have conducted operations there,” he said. B4Ukraine is a coalition of over 80 nonprofits that has urged Western businesses to withdraw from the Russian market. Executive Director Eleanor Nichol singled out SLB for criticism, stating that “it’s perverse that an American company continues to prop up Russia’s oil sector while the US government and citizens have made sacrifices for Ukraine.”
