Western companies are deepening ties in Russia

For some western companies working in Russia, taking a moral stance isn’t necessarily logical. The world’s largest oilfield services group, American company SLB, has been reported as expanding its operations in Russia, posting 1,000 job ads since December and registering two new trademarks through local subsidiaries last month.

SLB’s two main US competitors sold their Russian business to local managers following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but SLB never committed to doing the same — and now appears to be capitalising on the lack of competition. Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention has described SLB as an “international sponsor of war,” but the Kyiv School of Economics has found that only 11% of international firms have left Russia since the war began, and that those staying are “using their momentum to take the market share of those who are leaving or left.”