Shell chief committed to Russia despite Ukraine

"We regularly hold meetings with leaders of the Russian state to discuss business interests and opportunities.”

Mr van Beurden’s visit – a day after Russia and the US reached a tentative agreement to ease the political situation with Ukraine, news of which pushed Moscow’s Micex exchange up 2.1pc – was planned in advance as part of the 20th anniversary of Sakhalin Energy, which operates a major liquified natural gas (LNG) project in Russia.

Shell is a joint investor in the Sakhalin scheme alongside Russia’s Gazprom.

According to Shell about 4.5pc of the world’s supply of LNG comes from the Sakhalin project. Japan is especially dependent on the scheme, relying on it for about 10pc of its LNG.

President Putin said that Russia will “pledge all the necessary administrative guidance and support” that Shell needs to operate and invest in the country.

Despite Thursday’s agreement in Geneva, European and US officials have indicated that sanctions against Russia could still be extended further.

The dispute has already had an impact on the Russian economy with the banking and finance industries suffering the most disruption. According to figures from Dealogic, Russian bond issuance since the beginning of the year has fallen by 74pc.

Separately, Mr Putin said that Russia had shipped its first oil from the controversial Prirazlomnye Arctic platform.

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