Some of the world’s biggest oil companies and commodity traders are at risk of disruption to their extensive business operations in Russia if the west follows through with “unprecedented” sanctions against Moscow for any further invasion of Ukraine.
The US has emphasised measures that would target Russia’s financial sector and members of president Vlaldimir Putin’s inner circle, rather than sanctions that would directly disrupt supplies of Russian oil and gas into Europe and potentially push elevated energy prices even higher.
However, the G7’s threat of financial and economic sanctions on “a wide array of sectoral and individual targets” could still hit oil companies such as BP, Shell and ExxonMobil, and commodity traders such as Glencore, Vitol and Trafigura, which all have important business relationships in the country.