TotalEnergies Exits Arctic LNG 2 Project
The French energy company transferred its 10% stake in the project to a subsidiary of Novatek.
French energy giant TotalEnergies has finalized its withdrawal from the Arctic LNG 2 liquefied natural gas project in Russia, according to a statement released on Thursday. The company's CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, had previously announced in July that TotalEnergies would transfer its 10% stake in the project to its majority shareholder, Novatek.
The project had already been written off by TotalEnergies in 2022, with the company incurring a $4.1 billion loss following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. TotalEnergies currently holds a 19.4% stake in Novatek and a 20% stake in the Yamal natural gas field, from which LNG is shipped to Europe. However, due to the stringent sanctions imposed by Western countries, the company cannot divest from these stakes.
TotalEnergies maintains an obligation to repay $1.3 billion in loans provided to the project from other shareholders, though such repayments are unlikely for the time being.
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