Die US Oilfield Services Group erweitert die russische Einheit trotz neuer Sanktionen | Weatherford International sorgen zusammen mit anderen Unternehmen weiterhin für das Land kritische Ausrüstung

SS: US oilfield services group Weatherford International is expanding its Russia business despite strict new sanctions designed to curb the flow of petrodollars crucial to President Vladimir Putin’s war chest. The Houston-based company generated 7 per cent of its $2.4bn revenue in the first six months of the year in Russia, up from 5 per cent a year earlier. Texas-based SLB, formerly Schlumberger, the world’s largest oilfield services group, also continues to operate in Russia. The Financial Times has identified about 100 job adverts posted by Weatherford & SLB, its Russia unit, trading in the country as Schlumberger, has posted 382 jobs since late February in Russia. The sanctions, designed in the waning days of the Biden administration and imposed by Trump, prohibit US services for the extraction and production of crude oil and other petroleum products to any persons in Russia. Weatherford and SLB declined to comment on their Russian businesses or compliance with sanctions. Legal and energy experts said US companies were probably taking advantage of loopholes to enable them to continue operating in Russia. A US Treasury spokesperson said: “While Treasury does not comment on specific allegations, we take any alleged sanctions violations extremely seriously.”