France Warns on Sanctions After Allegation Over Russian Bombers

French Transport Minister Clement Beaune urged companies to ensure they aren’t breaching sanctions against Russia after newspaper Le Monde alleged that TotalEnergies SE may be indirectly providing jet fuel to the Kremlin’s air force.

Article content

(Bloomberg) — French Transport Minister Clement Beaune urged companies to ensure they aren’t breaching sanctions against Russia after newspaper Le Monde alleged that TotalEnergies SE may be indirectly providing jet fuel to the Kremlin’s air force.  

Article content

The French oil and gas giant denied that it’s backing Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in any way. Le Monde published an article on Wednesday, which said that a Russian company 49% owned by TotalEnergies is producing gas condensates that may ultimately be processed into kerosene for Moscow’s bombers.

Article content

“One must properly check that, voluntarily or not, there’s no hijacking of sanctions, nor of energy that a French company or any other would produce,” Beaune said on France 2 television in a response to a question on the matter.

The allegations are a reminder of challenges for Western companies that retain interests in Russia. While TotalEnergies has reduced its activities and stopped investing in the country, and taken billions of dollars of related writedowns, it still holds a 19.4% stake in Russian gas producer Novatek PJSC, as well as stakes in gas liquefaction plants and 49% in Terneftgaz.

Article content

In recent months, a couple of Russian military air bases used to attack Ukraine have received kerosene from a refinery in Omsk that’s been using gas condensates from Terneftgaz as a feedstock, according to Le Monde. The Omsk refinery is owned by Gazprom Neft, the oil arm of Gazprom PJSC.

TotalEnergies said it has no employees at Terneftgaz, which is 51%-owned by Novatek, nor any operational role in that company. It hasn’t brought any funding to the partnership since 2015, and has received no dividend from the venture since February, the French company added. 

All gas condensates produced by Terneftgaz are sold to Novatek, and Total has no control, nor any information on subsequent sales by Novatek, the energy giant said. 

A spokesman for TotalEnergies declined to comment on Beaune’s remarks. The shares of the French company were trading 1.5% higher at 2:54 p.m. in Paris.