Oil prices surged sharply on Tuesday as President Joe Biden decides to ban imports of Russian oil. US oil surged 6.4% to $126.91 in morning trading amid raised concerns over global supplies. At present, Brent crude was trading at $131.13 per barrel. 

Crude oil prices surged above $139 per barrel on Monday to hit their highest level since July 2008 as the United States and European allies began to consider banning Russian oil imports.

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Energy major Shell Plc on Tuesday said that it will stop all purchases of Russian oil and natural gas. It will also shut its service stations, aviation fuels and other operation in the country amid international pressure for companies to cut ties with Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The company said in a statement that it would phase out its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons including crude oil, petroleum products, natural gas, and liquefied natural gas, according to a report by Reuters.

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The decision comes just days after Ukraine’s foreign minister criticized Shell for continuing to buy Russian oil and doing business with President Vladimir Putin’s government.

Shell also apologized for purchasing Russian crude last week, after it has said it would withdraw from all its operations in Russia, including the Sakhalin 2 LNG plant in which it holds a 27.5% stake and which is operated by Gazprom.

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“We are acutely aware that our decision last week to purchase a cargo of Russian crude oil … was not the right one and we are sorry,” said Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden.

“As we have already said, we will commit profits from the limited, remaining amounts of Russian oil we will process to a dedicated fund,” he added.

Shell said it would shift its crude oil supply chain to cut volumes from Russia “as fast as possible” and close its service stations in Russia including aviation fuels and lubricants operations in the country.

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The company said supply chain change could take weeks to cut off from Russian crude and result in the lower output of fuels at some of its refineries.

While its withdrawal from Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the country “will take much longer” because it represents such a “complex challenge,” according to the statement.

The company also plans to withdraw from the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline project connecting Russia to Germany, which it helped finance as a part of a consortium.

The energy giant joined a list of companies, including BP, which announced to abandon its 19.75% stake in Russian oil giant Rosneft.