SAUDI FUND INVESTS IN TOP RUSSIAN ENERGY COMPANIES

Mon 15 August 2022:

The West Asian country of Saudi Arabia is engaged in its own game while the Russia-Ukraine conflict is raging and the west is trying to corner the Kremlin by applying sanctions.

According to reports, Kingdom Holding of Saudi Arabia revealed on Sunday that it had invested in three of the leading Russian energy firms, Gazprom, Lukoil, and Rosneft.

Kingdom Holding announced the details of its $3.4 billion investment initiative on Twitter. The corporation said that earlier this year, between February and March, it had completed investing in Russian companies.

شركة المملكة تعلن تفاصيل برنامجها الاستثماري: pic.twitter.com/xfKdumZzan

— شركة المملكة القابضة (@Kingdom_KHC) August 14, 2022

This development follows Saudi Arabia’s entry into the increasing group of nations consuming cheap Russian oil in defiance of Western sanctions.

According to experts, the price of Russian oil is too low for Saudi Arabia to resist the urge to purchase it. As long as the war rages, investing in leading Russian energy firms only makes sense.

It is important to know that Kingdom Holding’s largest shareholder is Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal. But in May of this year, Saudi Arabia’s national wealth fund, Public Investment Fund (PIF), bought a 16.87 percent share in the business.

Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out, the western world has imposed myriad sanctions on Russian companies to hurt Moscow financially. However, the Western sanctions have cleverly circumvented any major oil and energy companies.

Gazprom, the company responsible for more than 40% of Europe’s energy requirements, maintains the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, was not included in the sanctions list.

Furthermore, the Russian company repeatedly warned Europe that supplies could be permanently cut off when the Nord Stream 1 pipeline was shut down due to repairs. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has resisted increasing oil output despite pleas from its partners in the West.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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