France’s TotalEnergies pulls out of Russian energy giant

08:53 Sat, 04 February

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09.Dec .2022 18:30

France’s TotalEnergies pulls out of Russian energy giant

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France's TotalEnergies will pull its 19.4 percent stake from Russian energy major Novatek at the cost of $3.7 billion, the company announced Friday.

TotalEnergies will withdraw its two representatives on Novatek's board "with immediate effect" and will no longer include revenues from its Novatek investment in its financial reports, the company said.

The move will also affect TotalEnergies' proved reserves, lowering it by 1.7 billion barrels.

Unlike its competitors Shell and BP, TotalEnergies has come under intense criticism for clinging onto its investments in Russia despite the war in Ukraine.

In September, the company defended itself against media reports accusing it of providing fuel to Russian fighter jets in Ukraine. TotalEnergies argued that it did "not operate or cooperate" in the northern Russian Termokarstovoye field, which produces kerosene that could eventually be used by the military.

The company's CEO Patrick Pouyanné last month said TotalEnergies' "sole motivation" in keeping its Russian assets was to "bring over [liquefied natural gas] to Europe."

TotalEnergies said its two representatives on Novatek's board had abstained from voting on company affairs and "in particular on financial matters" following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and subsequent Western sanctions.

The company retains a stake in Russia's Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 projects, Politico reports.