BP Shares Sink After The US Announces Russia Sanctions

Shares of BP are down 2% in pre-market trading after the U.S. last night announced a new round of sanctions against Russian companies, including state-owned oil giant Rosneft.

BP holds a 19.75% stake in Rosneft.

These latest sanctions mark a significant escalation in the U.S. standoff with Russia, as these sanctions don't just target individuals, but also large banks and energy and defense firms.

In the first quarter, ExxonMobil reported that its share of Rosneft's oil and gas production for the quarter was 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day. Excluding Russia, Exxon's underlying production was slightly lower than the prior year.

Exxon is down by just 0.5% in pre-market trading.

A report from Bloomberg's Matthew Campbell noted that a number of other companies, including ExxonMobil, Halliburton, Schlumberger, and National Oilwell all have operations in Russia.

Following the sanctions, the Russian stock market took a bit, falling nearly 3% while the Russian ruble fell more than 1% against the dollar.

Shares of Rosneft trading in Moscow were also down more than 4%, though only 10.75% of the company trades publicly, as state-owned company OJSC ROSENFTEGAZ holds a 69.50% stake in the oil producer.