MOSCOW, November 21. /TASS/. The oil and gas concern Shell will substantially reduce the size of its workforce in Russia by the end of the year, a source familiar with the situation told TASS.

"The office of Shell in Russia will be substantially cut down by the end of the year. Starting January 1, only staff that will be involved in supporting the withdrawal from Russian oil and gas projects will remain," he said, adding though that the company does not close its representative office in the country.

On February 28, Shell reported its withdrawal from all joint projects with Russia, including Nord Stream 2 and Sakhalin 2 on LNG production (27.5% of shares). On March 8 it reported its intention to start gradually abandoning Russian petroleum products, pipeline gas and LNG.

In May the company sold Shell Neft, the owner of 411 retail stations under the Shell brand, as well as a lubricants blending plant located in Russia’s Tver Region, to Lukoil. Shell estimated net expenses from the sale at $83 mln, with currency translation losses totaling $343 mln.

Following the transfer of the operator of the Sakhalin-2 project to Russian jurisdiction, Shell, with a 27.5% share in the project, said it would not seek a stake in the new company. On September 1, 2022, Shell formally advised the Russian Federation that it would not apply for shares in LLC Sakhalinskaya Energiya, that it objected to the purported transfers from Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd. to the LLC and that it reserved all rights and remedies, the company said in a report.