The world’s largest oilfield services company, SLB (formerly known as Schlumberger), continues to actively expand its operations in Russia, thereby supporting the economy of the aggressor country and generating significant profits for it.
SLB is one of the world’s largest oilfield service companies, providing drilling, extraction, and maintenance services for oil and gas fields.
According to Financial Times, the company has signed new contracts with Russian partners and hired hundreds of new employees. This is happening against the backdrop of public statements by the company about halting the supply of products and technologies to Russia from its global facilities.
Between August and December 2023, equipment worth $17.5 million was imported, of which $2.2 million was reported as produced by SLB or its subsidiaries. A company representative noted that the imports did not come from SLB facilities, which, in their view, aligns with the company’s public statements and international sanctions regulations.
SLB’s operations in Russia in 2023 accounted for 5% of the group’s total revenue of $33.1 billion, with the company employing about 9,000 people in the country. By the end of 2023, the company maintained net assets in Russia worth $600 million. The revenue of SLB’s main Russian subsidiary increased to 27.3 billion rubles ($307 million), indicating growth in the company’s activities in the country.
In April 2023, Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) included SLB on its list of International Sponsors of War due to the company’s continued and expanding business in Russia despite the ongoing war. On its official website, SLB stated that it had paid over $4.5 billion in taxes to the Russian budget.
The company’s activities have a significant impact on the Russian economy, supporting its oil and gas sector, which is a key source of funding for the war in Ukraine.
Additionally, SLB assists Russian companies in modernizing and developing new oil fields, which increases Russia’s production and export capabilities.
If companies like SLB continue to operate in Russia without hindrance, it could undermine global efforts to curb aggression and uphold international law. It may also encourage other companies to follow SLB’s example, further weakening the effectiveness of sanctions.
The international community needs to reconsider its policies regarding such companies and explore the possibility of imposing additional sanctions to ensure the true isolation of the Russian economy and to stop the flow of funds that finance the war in Ukraine.
