TotalEnergies Exits Russia’s Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 Project
TotalEnergies has completed the transfer of its 10% stake in the Arctic LNG 2 project to operator Novatek, effectively ending its participation in the sanctioned Russian export project.
The French oil and gas supermajor confirmed on Thursday that the transfer of its interest in Arctic LNG 2 to NordLine, a subsidiary of Novatek, has been completed. As part of the transfer agreement, TotalEnergies retains its rights to be reimbursed by Arctic LNG 2 for its share of the loans provided by the shareholders to the project, amounting to around US$1.3 billion.
TotalEnergies had announced in July that an exit from the sanctioned project was imminent, and it has now fully written off its $4.1 billion stake in 2022. The company’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, stated on the earnings call last month that TotalEnergies immediately suspended its rights and obligations under the contracts related to Arctic LNG 2 following the UK, EU, and U.S. sanctions.
Transfer Authorized by Russian Authorities
The transfer was authorized by Russia‘s authorities in June, as Novatek approached TotalEnergies to initiate discussions for the transfer of its stake in Arctic LNG 2 to one of their own subsidiaries, NordLine. Pouyanné emphasized that both companies consider it in their joint interest to dispose of TotalEnergies’ shares in Arctic LNG 2, which were fully impaired in 2022.
Russia’s Growing Dark Fleet
While TotalEnergies was looking for a way out of Arctic LNG 2, Russia appears to have recently added four LNG carriers to its growing dark fleet of tankers exporting cargoes from the sanctioned project.
Original Article: TotalEnergies Exits Russia’s Sanctioned Arctic LNG 2 Project — Oilprice