• 2 min de lectura
• 2 min de lectura
After seven years of involvement, TotalEnergies has received approval to exit the Arctic LNG 2 liquefaction terminal project in Russia's far north. The Novatek-led initiative has been under Western sanctions since the early days of the invasion of Ukraine, and has been exporting only a fraction of its designed volume.
TotalEnergies bought a 10 percent share of Arctic LNG 2 during the early stages of development in 2019. In combination with the French energy major's 19 percent stake in Russian gas developer Novatek, the majority owner and operator of the facility, TotalEnergies controlled about 21 percent of the economic interest in the site. At the time, TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanne said that it aligned with the company's focus on "giant low cost resources primarily destined for the fast growing Asian markets."
A combination of Arctic ice and Western sanctions have inhibited the project's completion, and it has yet to achieve full-rate production. One train is idled, one is in operation and one is still incomplete (a technical challenge, as the Western firms that designed the equipment have exited Russia). The site requires special-purpose icebreaking LNG carriers for eastbound deliveries in ice conditions, and this fleet has not been fully built, leaving Arctic LNG 2 without year-round access to the Chinese market via the Northern Sea Route.
A federal decree issued by the Kremlin on Wednesday will allow TotalEnergies to sell its 10 percent stake to a Novatek subsidiary, according to Kommersant. The decision will bring Novatek's share in the project to 70 percent. The remaining 30 percent is held by Japanese and Chinese energy enterprises.
TotalEnergies still retains a 19 percent interest in Novatek and a 20 percent stake in the Yamal LNG project, which sells almost all of its exports to European buyers. If EU restrictions on Russian LNG imports take effect next year, as is expected, this plant could lose much of its market as well.
TotalEnergies declined to comment on the Arctic LNG 2 stake sale when asked by Reuters on Wednesday.
Fuente: The Maritime Executive
