Thunderbolt: TotalEnergies stops its purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products – La Tribune.fr

[Article mis à jour le 22/03/2022 à 20:00] The noose was tightening for TotalEnergies, well isolated in its strategy of maintaining its activities in Russia after the chain divestments of the Western oil and gas giants, from BP to Shell via ExxonMobil. A few days ago, the EELV candidate for the presidential election, Yannick Jadot, even went so far as to accuse the tricolor company of complicity in a “war crime”, while environmental NGOs multiplied mobilizations, determined to do bend its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné. “Faced with the worsening of the conflict”, and undoubtedly, moreover, with the media storm which accompanies it, TotalEnergies thus argued on Tuesday by means of a press release that it would stop all purchases of Russian oil or petroleum products “ no later than the end of 2022”, even though the European Union has not imposed an embargo on black gold. But also that he would initiate the “gradual suspension of his activities” in the country of Vladimir Putin. On March 7, Patrick Pouyanné had already assured that ” [s]he traders (of the group’s market activities, editor’s note) [prenaient] no more Russian oil since the beginning of the crisis”. But this time, the announcement goes further, because it affects supply contracts in black gold. And will concern in particular the German refinery in Leuna, or the contracts for the purchase of Russian diesel. While Europe imports 12% of its diesel from Russia, the group thus plans to substitute imports from other continents, in particular from the Saudi refinery Satorp in which it is a shareholder with Aramco. No sale of stakes in gas assets Nevertheless, with regard to gas, the oil giant does not intend to completely change gear. Because even if it will not bring “more capital” to the megaproject of the liquefied natural gas plant (LNG) Artic LNG 2, whose start-up was hitherto planned for 2023, it “continues to ensure the supply of Europe in LNG from the Yamal LNG plant”, this giant gas liquefaction site in the north of the country which has produced nearly 18 million tonnes of LNG per year since December 2017, and represented 16.6 % of TotalEnergies’ annual gas production in 2020. And for good reason, the company “finds itself bound under long-term contracts that it must honor as long as the governments consider that Russian gas is necessary” , specifies TotalEnergies in its press release. To justify itself, the group thus highlights the decision of the European Union to maintain, at this stage, the supply of Russian gas despite the war in Ukraine. In fact, Moscow continues to supply abundant fossil fuels to the Old Continent, which has provided it with nearly 17 billion euros in exchange since the start of the conflict on February 24. Why TotalEnergies does not want to leave Russia, unlike other Western oil companies In general, TotalEnergies does not intend to abandon its stakes in its Russian gas assets any time soon. In concrete terms, the group owns 19.4% of the number two gas producer in Vladimir Putin’s country, Novatek. In all (i.e. counting its shares in Novatek), it also owns 29.7% of Yamal LNG, and 21.64% of Arctic LNG 2. The reason for this maintenance, hammered home by the group , would be that the “current context [l’]prevent finding a non-Russian buyer to take over its minority stakes in Russia”. “In addition, abandoning the holdings in which TotalEnergies is a minority shareholder would have no impact on the operation of the companies concerned and therefore on their income since these companies have their own staff and are managed independently”, argues the company. . A strategic territory for TotalEnergies The fact remains that the impact would be major for TotalEnergies itself. Because if the group realizes in Russia only “3 to 5%” of its income, had minimized at the end of February Patrick Pouyanné, the Russian territory proved until then eminently strategic for the company, which was committed there in a vision long course. Moreover, it is gas and not oil that represents more than 80% of the hydrocarbon production of TotalEnergies in Russia (which has the first proven reserves in the world). “According to its CEO, if we want to succeed in getting out of oil, we have to turn to renewable energies but also to gas. Russian LNG therefore represents a major activity in its plan towards the transition, and disengaging from it today is not at all in line with its long-term strategy! “Slipped a source close to the company to La Tribune in early March. Evidenced by its huge financial investment in Russia: in all, the group has invested nearly 20 billion euros. Thus, as of December 31, 2020, Total held 24% of its proven reserves in Russia, where 16.6% of the Group’s combined liquids and gas production also came from in 2020, i.e. twice as much as in 2012. Russian gas: why Europe is trapped Marine Godelier 22 March 2022, 20:00