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A bipartisan coalition in the U.S. Congress is demanding that the Biden administration strengthen sanctions against the Russian oil service sector, asserting that current regulations allow a major American firm, SLB, to fuel Vladimir Putin’s military machine.
This was reported by The Financial Times.
Congress members have also approached the U.S. Treasury and State Departments to explain whether the Biden administration authorized transactions in which the Houston-based company SLB, better known by its former name Schlumberger, imported $17.5 million worth of equipment into Russia between August and December of last year. SLB is the world’s largest oil services company.
The congressional demands follow an August investigation by the Financial Times, which revealed that SLB continues to expand its operations in Russia, capitalizing on the exit of Western competitors, despite international sanctions in response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
“This American company keeps Vladimir Putin’s military machine in working order by financing the barbaric invasion of Ukraine,” the letter, signed by over 50 members of Congress and addressed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, states.
“We urge you to continue supporting our Ukrainian allies by implementing tougher oil sanctions to effectively limit Putin’s profits,” the letter adds.
Representatives from the State Department and SLB did not respond to the publication’s requests for comments.
The U.S. Treasury stated that it remains “committed to using all our tools to reduce Kremlin revenue and complicate the operations of the Russian military machine.”
“American firms are prohibited from making any new investments in Russia, and we plan to enforce all our sanctions against companies under our jurisdiction,” the Treasury stated.
Last year, the National Agency for Prevention of Corruption of Ukraine blacklisted SLB as an “international sponsor of war.” However, Western politicians have avoided implementing comprehensive sanctions against oil and gas companies in Russia for fear that this could lead to a halt in fossil fuel exports and cause a spike in global oil prices.
It is worth noting that in 2022, reports indicated that employees of the American oil services company Schlumberger began receiving draft notices in Russia.
