Western oil giants spent decades building inroads to Russia’s fossil-fuel wealth. Those collaborations collapsed in days following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, leaving them with no clear path to recoup billions of dollars.
Even as Russian troops were amassing on Ukraine’s border last month, executives at BP PLC, Shell PLC and Exxon Mobil Corp. believed they could weather the fallout, said people close to the companies. But in less than 60 hours last week, all announced they were exiting Russian operations under pressure from the U.S. and U.K. governments, as international condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression grew.