US Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez has requested explanations from the three largest American oilfield services firms – SLB, Baker Hughes and Halliburton – over their continued operations in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine, reports the Associated Press.
Menendez cited an AP investigation showing the companies exported over $200 million in technology to Russia in the year after the February 2022 invasion, with SLB even growing its Russian business slightly.
The Senate Foreign Chief called Russia’s invasion “particularly heinous” in letters to the CEOs, noting the companies’ continued business “sought to make a profit” and that “there is simply no good explanation for this behavior, other than to make a dollar.”
SLB spokeswomen Moira Duff declined to comment on conversations with officials after receiving the letter. Baker Hughes confirmed receipt and said it was addressing concerns directly with Menendez’s office. Halliburton stated it was the first major firm to exit Russia, doing so within six months of the invasion.
Anti-corruption group B4Ukraine criticized SLB in particular, with director Eleanor Nichol saying: “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.”
Related:
- Russia circumvents oil sanctions, outsmarting the West
- World’s largest oil services company SLB halts all product supplies to Russia
- US, German companies lead in tax payments to Russian budget – report
