European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion

The briefing argues that European and U.S. energy companies provided nearly USD 100 billion to the Russian government through oil and gas projects from 2014 to 2021. Using Rystad Energy data, the report identifies BP as the largest contributor, accounting for 80% of the total. The authors contend that these investments provided critical technological expertise and capital to Vladimir Putin's regime, persisting from the 2014 Crimea annexation until the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

• Eight energy companies—BP, Shell, Wintershall Dea, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Equinor, OMV, and Trafigura—are estimated to have contributed over USD 95 billion to the Russian government from 2014 through 2021 via stakes in Russian oil and gas projects and companies.
• BP is the primary contributor among the identified companies, responsible for 80% of the total estimated payments, largely due to its equity stake in the state-owned company Rosneft.
• The financial support took two primary forms: direct payments from upstream projects located in Russia and payments made by Russian companies in which European firms held minority equity shares, such as TotalEnergies' 19.4% stake in Novatek.
• The briefing argues that the oil and gas industry's role in financing autocratic regimes and contributing to the climate crisis demonstrates that the industry cannot be trusted to lead the transition to clean energy sources like wind and solar.

APA

Stockman, L., Tong, D., Donaghy, T., Worthy, M., & Milin, Z. (n.d.). European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion. Global Witness. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/european-and-us-energy-companies-are-responsible-for-nearly-usd-100-billion-to-putins-war-chest-since-crimea-invasion/

Chicago

Stockman, Lorne, David Tong, Tim Donaghy, Murray Worthy, and Zorka Milin. European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion. Global Witness, n.d. https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/european-and-us-energy-companies-are-responsible-for-nearly-usd-100-billion-to-putins-war-chest-since-crimea-invasion/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stockman |first1=Lorne |last2=Tong |first2=David |last3=Donaghy |first3=Tim |last4=Worthy |first4=Murray |last5=Milin |first5=Zorka |title=European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion |publisher=Global Witness |url=https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/european-and-us-energy-companies-are-responsible-for-nearly-usd-100-billion-to-putins-war-chest-since-crimea-invasion/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockmanndeuropean, author = {Stockman, Lorne and Tong, David and Donaghy, Tim and Worthy, Murray and Milin, Zorka}, title = {{European and US energy companies are responsible for nearly USD 100 billion to Putin’s war chest since Crimea invasion}}, institution = {Global Witness}, url = {https://globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/fossil-fuels/european-and-us-energy-companies-are-responsible-for-nearly-usd-100-billion-to-putins-war-chest-since-crimea-invasion/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }