French oil and gas company TotalEnergies has decided to remove company representatives from the board of directors of the Russian company Novatek due to EU sanctions against Moscow, a statement was published on its website.
The company will no longer account for its 19.4% stake in Novatek, which had an impairment of $3.7bn in the fourth quarter. TotalEnergies will suffer losses as it cannot sell its stake in Novatek. The two directors representing TotalEnergies on Novatek's board of directors are forced to abstain from voting at meetings of the board of directors, in particular on financial matters. The concern will gradually withdraw from all Russian projects in which it currently participates as a minority shareholder.
In November, the head of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanne, said that the company continues to work in Russia in order to ensure energy exports to Europe. According to him, the company complies with all sanctions and will terminate the existing gas contracts, if necessary. At the same time, he added that gradually Total intends to leave Russia after other energy giants – Shell, ExxonMobil and BP.
In March, businessman Gennady Timchenko, who fell under European sanctions due to Russia's attack on Ukraine, left the board of directors of Novatek. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, after the start of the war in Ukraine, Timchenko lost $3.7 billion. The businessman also owns stakes in Sibur, Stroytransgaz, and Transoil. Its financial losses since the beginning of the year amounted to $10.3 billion.