PARIS (Agefi-Dow Jones)–The Chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, reaffirmed on Wednesday that the group would not sell its Russian assets without financial compensation, and that it would continue to operate the Yamal LNG field as long as that international sanctions do not prevent it.
“We have long-term contracts. Yamal LNG’s contract is 50 billion dollars. It is out of the question to be asked, in the absence of sanctions, for 50 billion dollars,” said the leader. at the general meeting of shareholders.
“If the sanctions are decided we will interrupt it,” he added.
Present in Russia since 1991, Total produced 479,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day there in 2020, or nearly 17% of its total hydrocarbon production. The group mainly works with Novatek, one of the main private oil and gas producers in the country, of which it owns 19.4%. Together they developed the Yamal LNG complex, which produced more than 18.8 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas in 2020.
The French oil group has been under strong pressure since the start of the war in Ukraine because of its refusal to sell its stakes in Russian companies, while its competitors BP and Shell have announced a total withdrawal from the country.
“Abandoning our holdings without financial counterparties would contribute to enriching Russian investors, in contradiction with the objective of the sanctions”, pleaded Patrick Pouyanné on Wednesday.
On the other hand, he confirmed that the group would stop its purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products when the current contracts expire, ie by the end of the year.
-Francois Schott, Agefi-Dow Jones; 01 41 27 47 92; [email protected] ed: ECH
Agefi-Dow Jones The financial newswire
Dow Jones Newswires
May 25, 2022 06:52 ET (10:52 GMT)