A couple of days ago, some countries even acted like bandits, freezing the accounts of Russian billionaires and seizing yachts, causing the billionaires to lose $80 billion overnight. Just when it seemed that Russia was a piece of fish that everyone could cut, a British-Dutch company made a dramatic reversal, giving the sanctioners a big slap. On March 2, Shell, risking a loss of $3 billion, announced its withdrawal from Russian projects and joined the sanctions. Shell quietly used the biggest discount in history to buy 725,000 barrels of Russian crude oil, making a huge profit of $20 million. Apple suspended sales in Russia and restricted functions like Apple Pay, turning iPhones into half-bricks in the hands of Russians. Audi and BMW stopped shipping to Russia, while Volvo, Ford, Hyundai, and Volkswagen suspended all operations in Russia. When technology and economy were completely blocked in all fields, no one expected that Shell would be the one to tear open a gap. The price per barrel was $28.5 lower than the international standard, 180 yuan cheaper per barrel, setting a historical record. Even Russia said: We thought the first buyer would be China; we didn't expect Shell to be first. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba questioned on Twitter: Does Russian oil smell like 'Ukrainian blood'? Although Shell later argued that it would set up a fund with the profits to provide humanitarian aid to Ukraine. Shell is the world's second-largest oil company, with revenues of $85.2 billion in 2021, ranking 20th globally in wealth, an absolute hidden giant. Looking only at the Chinese market, Shell was the first international oil company to obtain wholesale fuel qualifications in China. Currently, Russia ranks first in natural gas production and second in oil production worldwide, with 41% of Europe's oil and gas coming from Russia. If Shell insists, it can only buy from the United States. But the cost of transporting American oil and gas across the ocean to Europe is five times that of importing from Russia. However, examining Shell's history, this path of economically profiteering while politically leveraging is Shell's specialty. At Shell's headquarters in London, you can see various shells on glass doors, decorations, and displays in the corridors. Shell's predecessor was an inconspicuous small shop on the Thames docks, which accumulated wealth and fame by processing collected shells into crafts sold to wealthy ladies. In 1869, the Suez Canal opened, shortening the distance between Europe and the Far East by 4,000 miles. Shell's founders, the Samuel father and son, established Marcus Samuel & Co. to engage in transportation business. Marcus became a transportation giant facilitating exchanges between Japan, China, Malaysia, and other countries. It is said that Japan's first textile machine was transported by them. During transportation, Marcus came into contact with oil. At that time, Standard Oil was the dominant player in the oil industry, and the Asian market, overlooked by the giant, was seized by Marcus using his transportation advantages, laying the foundation for Shell's later development. At that time, all kerosene was transported in cans. Marcus wanted to use bulk transportation, which could save packaging weight and almost halve transportation costs. In addition to oil tankers, Marcus dug storage tanks at all Far Eastern strongholds, betting everything to seize the Suez Canal opportunity. There is a legend about Shell: Shell employees are all civilian diplomats, better at discussing national interests than profits. The second move: semi-lobbying and semi-warning the British government: if the oil tankers are prevented from operating, Britain's future oil supply would be threatened by the United States. Through a set of political maneuvers, Marcus's oil tankers stopped in Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and other places along the way, selling oil and becoming a new power in the oil kingdom. Therefore, Li Ka-shing, seeing the situation, was reported to have sold his British power grid company for 126 billion yuan. In the energy sector, Gazprom Neft changed its settlement method, in a word, Russia will not sell unless the United States and Europe pay with gold, yuan, or rubles. It is worth noting that in April last year, when the oil price war was most intense, the US shale oil giant Whiting Petroleum filed for bankruptcy, directly evaporating $50 billion. On March 4, Russia launched a triple strike against the UK, the US, and Germany within 24 hours, directly issuing an ultimatum to the UK: as long as the requirements of the Russian State Space Corporation are not met, the satellites of British companies will be dismantled and the money will be lost. In early March, Russia announced its readiness to disconnect from the global internet and activate its domestic internet, Runet, to eliminate future troubles. In the face of tech giants like Microsoft, Google, Oracle, and Apple announcing the suspension of business plans in Russia, Russia made a big move: unblocking a pirated resource website called RuTracker. After Microsoft and Apple software were banned, Russian netizens could download various pirated resources on RuTracker. Whether it's pirated Windows or the entire Adobe suite, anything you can think of can be found there. After being besieged for days, Russia has begun to counterattack. In this market, whoever has absolute power can become king.
