Oilfield equipment producer Weatherford listed as a sponsor of war

Ukraine’s National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) has listed Weatherford International plc, an Irish-American company, as an international sponsor of war for its work with Russia.

The agency made the announcement on its website.

"Weatherford International continues to operate in Russia, paying millions of dollars in taxes there and providing technological capabilities to the aggressor country in the oil industry," the announcement says.

Weatherford International specializes in the manufacture and supply of oilfield equipment and services to oil and gas companies. The company has been operating in Russia for 16 years, has created more than 2.5 thousand jobs there, and maintains service facilities, bases, and engineering enterprises in Russia.

"Weatherford is represented in Russia through Weatherford Holdings (Rus) LLC, Weatherford LLC, and Weatherford Business Service LLC. In 2022, they paid more than $15 million in taxes to the aggressor's budget. Among Weatherford's partners in Russia is the notorious Rosneft oil company, which remains the main customer for its services," the NACP said.

The company also continues to be an active participant in import and export operations with Russia. In the period from February 24, 2022, to December 31, 2023, it imported goods to Russia worth almost $1.5 million. Among them were materials and spare parts for the oil and gas industry.

Weatherford has a clear intention to continue to fulfill existing contracts and sign new contracts with customers in Russia. In its reporting, Weatherford promised to fulfill its contractual obligations, taking into account international sanctions.

The company successfully rebuilt its equipment supply channels after the civilized world imposed sanctions on Russia, replacing suppliers with Russian or other foreign companies. This demonstrates not only the company's economic and technological support for the aggressor, but also its ideological support.

What is known about the list of sponsors of war

The NACP is an agency that checks private companies for integrity and compliance with business rules established by OECD standards.

The list of International Sponsors of War has been created on the War and Sanctions portal and includes companies that have continued to work on the Russian market and pay taxes in the Russian Federation.

previously reported that the National Agency for Corruption Prevention had listed nearly 50 companies as international sponsors of war, most of them being based in China and the United States.

Among the recent additions to the list were Bolero, the leading Georgian group of winemaking companies, and

German-based Knauf. According to the agency, Knauf promotes mobilization in Russia, does not leave the Russian market, and has close ties with the Putin regime.