TotalEnergies exits Russian Arctic LNG 2 project

TotalEnergies said Thursday that it had completed its exit from Russia's Arctic LNG 2 gas project, which was hit by Western sanctions after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The French energy company said it had transferred its 10 percent interest in Arctic LNG 2 to NordLine, a subsidiary of the Russian majority shareholder Novatek. “TotalEnergies is therefore no longer a shareholder,” the company said.

Chief executive Patrick Pouyanne announced in July that the company planned to transfer the stake. TotalEnergies had already taken a $4.1 billion write-down on the Arctic LNG 2 stake in 2022 after the start of the Ukraine war.

The company said it still had the right to reimbursement by Arctic LNG 2 of $1.3 billion in loans it provided with other shareholders, but indicated repayment was unlikely for now. It said any reimbursement could happen in the future subject to sanctions.

Most Western companies quickly sold or isolated Russian operations and holdings after the invasion as sanctions made trade in many goods difficult. Russia has required presidential authorisation for companies to leave, and Pouyanne said in July that TotalEnergies had recently received approval for the Arctic LNG 2 transfer.

Novatek had been TotalEnergies' main partner in Russia. The companies jointly launched the Yamal natural gas field in Siberia in 2013. TotalEnergies still holds a 19.4 percent stake in Novatek and a 20 percent stake in Yamal, and says it cannot sell its Novatek stake under the current sanctions regime against Moscow.