Russia will likely be shut out permanently from global energy markets, top oil execs say
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- Top execs from Chevron and Woodside Petroleum predicted Russia will be cut off from global energy markets.
- Once the EU weans off Russian supplies, Moscow is unlikely to be able to participate again, they said.
- "The move has not been an energy move, it's been a social move as people have recognized the destructive nature of the conflict."
Russia will likely be shut out permanently from global energy markets once Europe can operate without the country's oil and gas, top energy executives said.
The European Union's resolve is "firm" to wean itself off of Russian supplies, Meg O'Neill, CEO of Australia's Woodside Petroleum, said at an energy conference in Brisbane Tuesday, according to the Financial Times.
"The Europeans post-World War II thought there would never be war on European soil again," she said. "I think what has happened is so shocking for them that I think they will not be lulled into complacency around acquiring energy from Russia in the future."
The comments come as the EU edges closer to a phased-in embargo of Russian oil, which the US has already banned. European countries are also looking to reduce their reliance on Russian natural gas by sourcing it from elsewhere.
Europe isn't the only market that can turn to alternatives to Russian energy. Liquefied natural gas producers in Australia, O'Neill added, can help fill demand in Asia once Russia is eventually out of the trade loop.
The world won't allow Russia to return to global markets unless President Putin has a "change of heart," which is unlikely, according to Kory Judd, director of operations for Chevron's Australian business.
"There's a bit of a moral transition that would have to happen," Judd said at the Tuesday conference. "The move has not been an energy move, it's been a social move as people have recognised the destructive nature of the conflict. And so I suspect that if there were a quick change of heart and more responsible actions, there could be a reintegration."