On Sunday, British Petroleum announced that it was dropping its stake in Russian energy company Rosneft as Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine.
BP has held a 19.74% stake in Rosneft since 2013, and the decision to cut ties with the Russian energy firm joins a list of other private sector severances since the invasion began five days ago.
BP chairman Helge Lund shared with Fox Business why his company decided to cut ties with Rosneft, citing the Russia conflict clearly.
"Russia's attack on Ukraine is an act of aggression which is having tragic consequences across the region," Lund said. "BP has operated in Russia for over 30 years, working with brilliant Russian colleagues. However, this military action represents a fundamental change."
As for other moves from BP, the oil giant said that its chief executive Bernard Looney is resigning from Rosneft's board effective immediately. In addition, another former BP executive, Bob Dudley, is also resigning from the firm's board.
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In a statement, Looney shared his thoughts on the decision to resign from the board.
"I am convinced that the decisions we have taken as a board are not only the right thing to do, but are also in the long-term interests of bp," Looney said in the statement. "Our immediate priority is caring for our great people in the region and we will do our utmost to support them."
Lund also mentioned how BP's relationship with the government-run Rosneft directly benefited the Russian government, but not anymore.
"We can no longer support BP representatives holding a role on the Rosneft board," Lund said. "The Rosneft holding is no longer aligned with BP's business and strategy and it is now the board's decision to exit BP's shareholding in Rosneft. The BP board believes these decisions are in the best long-term interests of all our shareholders."
The move by BP has been praised by Kwasi Kwarteng, the business and energy secretary for the U.K.
On Monday, Shell also made the decision to divest from Russia's energy industry, another move that Kwarteng praised.
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