White House is likely to ban oil imports from Russia, US Senator Coons says

The White House is likely to ban Russian oil imports and is working closely with European allies on the issue, Democratic US Senator Chris Coons said on Tuesday.

The announcement may come Tuesday or Wednesday, Coons said in an interview with CNN.

Shell stopped buying Russian crude on Tuesday and said it would phase out its involvement in all Russian hydrocarbons from oil to natural gas over Ukraine, becoming one of the first major Western oil companies to abandon Russia entirely.

While Russian crude and gas has been exempt so far from Western sanctions, oil soared above $139 a barrel on Monday to its highest since July 2008 as the United States and European allies began to consider banning Russian oil imports.

U.S. lawmakers have called for bans but President Joe Biden’s administration has only sanctioned Russian oil tankers. Britain and Canada have also barred Russian vessels from landing at their ports in protest at Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Shell apologised on Tuesday for buying Russian oil last week after it had said it would pull out of its Russian operations, including the Sakhalin 2 LNG plant in which it holds a 27.5% stake and which is operated by Gazprom.

“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,” Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said.

ALSO READ:

• Russia-Ukraine crisis: What would a US ban on Russian oil mean for the world?

• LIVE Russia-Ukraine crisis: Number of refugees fleeing hits 2 million, UN says

• Ukraine crisis: Oil price see-saws near 14-year highs as US weighs Russia oil embargo

• Americas
• Asia