France's Largest Energy Company Announced Its Withdrawal From A Joint LNG Project With Russia In The Arctic

The CEO of TotalEnergies provided details.

France’s largest energy company, TotalEnergies, will withdraw from the shareholder base of the Russian “Arctic LNG-2” project, according to Reuters. The French oil and gas giant will transfer its 10 percent stake to NordLine, a subsidiary of the project’s main owner, NOVATEK. TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné announced the imminent withdrawal from the project during a conference call with analysts.

“The transfer of the stake was authorized by a decree from the Russian president. We expect the transfer process to be completed shortly,” Puyanne said. Negotiations on the transfer began after “Arctic LNG-2” was added to the U.S. sanctions list in November 2023. In early June 2026, Putin signed an order authorizing NordLine LLC to acquire TotalEnergies’ stake in Arctic LNG-2.

According to RBC, the co-owners of “Arctic LNG-2,” alongside NOVATEK (60% stake) and TotalEnergies, are the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)—10%, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC)—10%, and Japan Arctic LNG (a Japanese consortium of Mitsui and JOGMEC)—10%.

Despite withdrawing from “Arctic LNG-2,” the French company continues to generate revenue from another Russian project—“Yamal LNG.” TotalEnergies holds a 20% stake in the “Yamal LNG” project and owns 19.4% of NOVATEK’s shares. Puyanne reported that TotalEnergies earns approximately $400 million per year from the sale of LNG shipments from the project. According to him, the revenue varies depending on Brent crude oil prices, as the contracts are tied to oil prices. The European Union plans to completely ban imports of Russian LNG under long-term contracts starting January 1, 2027.

The company has not disclosed the amount of funds it has managed to transfer out of Russia. According to Puyanne, part of the cash flow has been distributed, but it is impossible to transfer all the funds due to EU sanctions. “European sanctions limit the ability to transfer funds from Russia to Europe,” he noted. In 2024, Puyanne stated that dividend payments from the company’s stake in NOVATEK were estimated at approximately $600 million per year, but these funds remained frozen in Russia.

“Arctic LNG-2” is a project for natural gas extraction and LNG production in the Arctic region. The project operator is Arctic LNG-2 LLC, and the resource base is the Utrennoye field on the Gydan Peninsula in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. The project is located approximately 70 km from the “Yamal LNG” project on the opposite shore of the Ob Bay.

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