Saudi Arabia invests in Russian energy companies

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia: In a Twitter post published this week, Saudi Arabia's Kingdom Holding said it had invested in Russian energy groups Gazprom, Rosneft and Lukoil.

Following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine on 24th February, many Western nations imposed sanctions on Russian energy firms and their executives.

The Saudi company said that its investments fall within its $3.4 billion three-year investment program, adding that it invested in Gazprom and Rosneft on 22nd February, and in Lukoil from 22nd February to 22nd March.

Although Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, the Public Investment Fund, took a 16.87 percent stake in the company in May, Kingdom Holding remains primarily owned by Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal.

Saudi Arabia and Russia lead the OPEC+ group, an alliance formed between the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other producers in 2017.