TotalEnergies, the French energy giant. announced yesterday that it is selling its stake in a gas field in Siberia after the newspaper Le Monde revealed that Russian warplanes operating in Ukraine are supplied with fuel from there. The condensed gas from the Russian company Novatek, owned by Total, is transformed into aviation kerosene. The company Terneftegaz, which exploits the deposit, is owned 49% by Total and 51% by Novatek.
The French company gives its part to Novatek, according to what it said in a statement issued yesterday, stating that the agreement was reached on July 18. In any case, it was not until yesterday that news broke, after Le Monde published that, according to information collected by the NGO Global Witness, which served as the basis for an investigation, the fuel from the Siberian field reached the Morozovskaya and Malchevo, from which Russian planes –according to Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch– would have participated, for example, in the bombing of the Mariúpol theater last March.
TotalEnergies has confirmed that Novatek produces gas condensate as aviation fuel, but says it is intended for export. The firm maintains that the sale of its stake to Novatek was submitted on August 8 to the Russian authorities for approval that would have occurred yesterday. He insists that he will strictly comply with “current and future European sanctions.” A spokesman quoted by the Reuters agency declined to comment on what Total will do with the 19% it has in Novatek itself and other businesses it owns in Russia. Total sold its 20% stake in the Jariaga oil field and owns 20% in Yamal LNG and 10% in Arctic LNG 2, liquefied gas production projects, both owned by Novatek.
A decree by Vladimir Putin this month prohibits investors from unfriendly countries from selling their shares in the energy industry until the end of the year, but with exemptions in some cases. TotalEnergies doubled its net profits in the second half of the year, entering 5,602 million euros between April and June. Its CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, is a friend of Novatek’s president, Guennadi Timtchenko, who in turn is a friend of Vladimir Putin.
The Ukrainian government yesterday criticized the companies that maintain their business with Moscow, because “they contribute to the murder of Ukrainians and the ruin of our cities”.
