One of the first large companies to abandon Russia after the invasion of Ukraine was the British oil giant, which has a stake in the Russian state-controlled oil company.
The attack on Ukraine presents a fundamental change for the company, which has worked in Russia for over 30 years.
As Russia grows increasingly toxic in the world's eyes, harsh sanctions are piling up, airspace is being blocked from other nations, and protests are spreading.
Norway's wealth fund said on Sunday that it would sell its Russian investments. Companies that do business in Russia are bracing for repercussions on their bottom lines, as sanctions are poised to hurt Russia's economy.
The British government and opposition lawmakers have been pressing the company over the stake. Prime Minister Boris Johnson has taken a hard line against the Russian invasion, arguing that Europe needs to reduce its dependence on natural gas from Russia.
In these circumstances, the large holding in the company looked unsustainable. The government's concerns were raised during a video call between Mr. Looney and the business secretary. David Nicholas said the decision was made by the board.
Mr. Kwarteng said that the invasion of Ukraine by Russia must be a wake up call for British businesses with commercial interests in Russia.
Daily business updates The latest coverage of business, markets and the economy, sent by email each weekday.It was not clear how the exit from the company would be done. A spokesman for the company said that it would begin to dispose of its stake at the end of last year, but did not know how it would do that. Russian state entities might be the only buyers of the shares of rosneft.
The resignations of the chief executive and his predecessor from the board of the Russian oil company was announced by the company.
State-owned companies from China and other countries might be interested in buying a piece of one of the world's largest oil producers.
The loss of dividends from the Russian stake as well as market value could cause protests from investors. On the other hand, some analysts were happy with the move.
Oswald Clint, an analyst at Bernstein, said that the removal of Russian news flow volatility and stronger environmental credentials will benefit equity investors.
The board resignations will lead to accounting changes. The company will no longer book its share of the profits and reserves of the Russian company.
Higher oil prices would have led to more dividends being received by the company.
There is a rising concern. Russia's attack on Ukraine could cause spikes in energy and food prices. Some countries and industries would suffer severe economic damage from supply disruptions and economic sanctions.
The price of energy. As the conflict has intensified, oil prices have risen to their highest level in more than two years. One of every 10 barrels the global economy consumes is supplied by Russia.
There is gas supplies. Europe gets nearly 40 percent of its natural gas from Russia, and it is likely to be walloped with higher heating bills. European leaders accuse Russia of reducing supplies to gain a political edge, as natural gas reserves are running low.
There are shortages of essential metals. Russia is the world's largest exporter of the metal and the price of it has gone up as a result. The price of nickel has gone up.
Financial turmoil. Sanctions designed to restrict Russia's access to foreign capital and limit its ability to process payments in dollars, euros and other currencies are expected to have an effect on global banks. Russia is also on alert for cyberattacks.
In the first quarter of 2022, the company said it would write off at least $11 billion.
Although it is the Western oil company with the most to lose in Russia, it will remain a relatively large player.
This new tack has something to do with moving away from Rosneft. Biraj Borkhataria, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said that the stake in the oil company is out of sync with the strategic direction of the company.
The long experiment with Russia that began early this century with the company investing $8 billion in a joint venture with a group of Russian will draw at least a temporary line.
After a decade of strained relations, the partners of the joint venture sold their shares in the company for $12.5 billion in cash and a 19.75 percent stake.
A chill may be felt by other large Western oil companies. TotalEnergies has a stake in a Russian gas producer and a stake in a large natural gas facility in the Russian north. Shell has a small stake in an L.N.G. facility on Sakhalin Island in the Russian Far East, where Exxon Mobil has been producing oil for a quarter of a century.
Russian operations have lost importance in the portfolios of the Western oil industry. Climate change concerns and sanctions imposed on the Russian industry over Mr. Putin's annexation of Crimea have curbed the appetite for investing in Russia.
Analysts say that rising oil and gas prices and higher profits may help paper over any earnings hit in Russia this year.
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