TotalEnergies: banning Russian LNG before 2025 would be an unwise decision
A ban on imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia to the EU before 2025 or 2026 would be “unreasonable,” given that the region would not be able to immediately replace these volumes. This was stated by TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne.
Europe imports 15-20 million tonnes, or 20-27 billion m3, of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year. This represents 10-15% of total gas imports, which amounted to 115 million tonnes (156 billion m3) in 2022, Pouyanne said.
“TotalEnergies made a major contribution to securing supplies last year; we were the largest importer of LNG into Europe,” Pouyanne said.
This is consistent with data from ship-tracking company Kpler, which show that Europe (excluding Turkey) imported 20,7 billion m3 from Russia last year, out of a total of 166 billion m3. However, Russian LNG imports to Europe rose by 40% between January and July compared with the same period in 2021, before the war in Ukraine.
Although the EU has banned imports of Russian oil and coal, LNG supplies are still allowed. Some countries have asked companies not to sign new contracts and to gradually end existing ones.
“We don’t know how to replace [Russian LNG] immediately, but one day we will be able to, because supply will grow,” Pouyanne said on Tuesday at the Francegaz conference in Paris.
New LNG projects are being developed around the world, particularly in the US, but most will not come online until 2025 or later.
“I think European governments have understood this equation perfectly,” Pouyanne said, referring to the EU’s decision to continue importing Russian LNG.
Most Russian LNG comes from the Yamal terminal
Russian LNG supplied to Europe comes mainly from Novatek, which owns the Yamal LNG terminal with a capacity of 22,5 billion m3/year in northwestern Siberia, and, more recently, from Gazprom via the new Portovaya terminal in the eastern Baltic, with a capacity of 2 billion m3/year.
TotalEnergies owns a 20% stake in the Yamal LNG joint venture, of which Novatek is the majority owner.
“TotalEnergies’ position is absolutely clear: we have deconsolidated all our Russian operations and manage our contracts in accordance with the sanctions imposed by the European authorities,” Pouyanne added.
Translation disclaimer
This article is a machine translation of the Czech original and has not yet been fully reviewed. In case of any doubt, please refer to the Czech version.
