Shell announced on Monday that it will cease all operations in Russia, including a large liquefied natural gas project, becoming the latest major Western energy giant to leave the oil-rich country in the aftermath of Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

Shell disclosed in a statement that it will exit its 27.5% interest in the Sakhalin 2 LNG project, which is 50% owned and run by Russian gas giant Gazprom.

The announcement comes just one day after rival BP decided to sell its interest in Russian oil giant Rosneft, a move that could cost the British corporation more than $25 billion. Equinor, a Norwegian oil company, also intends to leave Russia.

Shell has stated that exiting Russian joint ventures will result in impairments. Shell said it has roughly $3 billion in non-current assets in these Russian businesses at the end of 2021.

Based on the sources, during that previously undisclosed meeting, Looney made it plain that the company's stake in Rosneft had become untenable.

One of the BP insiders remarked, "There was just one decision we could make." "The only reasonable option was to leave."

The sources added that Looney convened two more board meetings over the weekend, after which board members voted to exit the Rosneft stake immediately.

On Friday, Looney met with British Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng, who raised worry about BP's interests in Russia. On Sunday, Kwarteng praised BP's decision to withdraw on Twitter.

On Monday, Kwarteng sent Shell a similar message.

"Shell made the proper decision to divest from Russia," he tweeted, adding that he had spoken with van Beurden earlier that day.

The Sakhalin 2 project, off Russia's northeastern coast, is massive, generating roughly 11.5 million tonnes of LNG per year and exporting it to key markets such as China and Japan.

Shell's exit from the project, the world's largest LNG trader, is a setback for the company's intentions to provide gas to fast-growing markets in the next decades.

Shell has stated that the withdrawal of Russia will have no impact on its efforts to transition to low-carbon and renewable energy sources.

In addition, the business intends to discontinue its participation in the Nord Stream 2 Baltic gas pipeline connecting Russia and Germany, which it helped fund as part of a partnership. The project was suspended by Germany last week.

Shell will also depart its joint venture with Gazprom, Salym Petroleum Development.

In 2021, Salym and Sakhalin 2 together contributed $700 million to Shell's net income.