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By Timothy Gardner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Dozens of U.S. Representatives from both political parties urged the Biden administration to toughen sanctions on Russian oil shipments and questioned an exception issued to the world's largest oilfield company SLB to operate in the country.
Since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. and European countries have sought to cut Moscow's energy revenue for fighting the war through sanctions. That prompted several oilfield service companies to leave Russia but SLB has remained operating in the country, helping keep Russian oil production flowing.
The 52 lawmakers, including Democratic Representatives Jake Auchincloss and Lloyd Doggett and Republican Representative Brian Fitzpatrick, said that since the invasion in February 2022, SLB has signed new contracts, recruited hundreds of staff, and imported nearly $18 million in equipment into Russia.
"This U.S.-based company is keeping (Russian President) Vladimir Putin’s war machine well-oiled with financing for the barbaric invasion of Ukraine. We urge you to continue supporting our Ukrainian allies by pursuing more rigorous oil sanctions to effectively restrict Putin’s profits," the lawmakers said in a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The lawmakers said President Joe Biden's administration has pointed to a Treasury Department general license that authorizes U.S. persons to process energy-related transactions that involves certain sanctioned Russian financial institutions.
"We are cognizant of the arguments often cited that
Russian oil provides a critical and irreplaceable segment of the global oil supply," the lawmakers said. "However, allowing Russia to benefit from Western technology and expertise only increases the resiliency of their oil and gas sector against Western sanctions and prolongs its ability to finance its illegal offensive."
The U.S. Treasury Department is "committed to using all our tools to reduce the Kremlin’s revenues and make it harder for Russia’s war machine to operate," a spokesperson said. "U.S firms are prevented from making any new investments in Russia and we plan to enforce all our sanctions against companies within our jurisdiction."
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. SLB did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In May, Assistant Secretary of State Geoffrey Pyatt told Reuters that SLB had not violated sanctions against Russia.
SLB last year received 5% of its revenue from Russia. It had 10,000 employees in Russia helping energy firms pump oil and gas when the war began in 2022.
(Reporting by Timothy GardnerEditing by Marguerita Choy)
