Norway's Equinor to stop trade in Russian oil and oil products

By Sibel Morrow

ANKARA (AA) - Norway's energy giant Equinor will stop trading in Russian oil, which also prevents the company from entering any new trade or engaging in the transport of oil and oil products from Russia, the company said in a statement on Tuesday.

The announcement comes after Equinor decided to start the exit from joint ventures in Russia and halt new investments there just four days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine which started on Feb. 24.

This is part of Equinor’s efforts to exit Russia, and includes a full overview of all relevant aspects of contracts signed before the invasion, including its legal obligations, it said

"Equinor has certain contractual commitments arising out of contracts entered into prior to the invasion. This includes contracts signed in January this year, under which Equinor will receive four oil cargoes in March. Two of these are sold on to customers in Asia. The third is a naphtha cargo that will be delivered to an Equinor contracted storage facility. The fourth is a feedstock cargo to be delivered at the Mongstad refinery in Norway," the company explained.

Equinor said the receipt of these cargoes is in full compliance with the current sanctions.

The company is continuing its work to exit Russia “in a responsible way while ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, including sanctions.”