TotalEnergies Completes Its Exit from Russia's Arctic LNG 2
The 10 percent stake goes to Novatek subsidiary NordLine, with $1.3bn in loans still outstanding
TotalEnergies has completed the transfer of its stake in Novatek's Arctic LNG 2 project to NordLine, formally ending the French company's involvement in the sanctioned Russian development.
The company confirmed it has completed the transfer of its 10 percent interest to the Novatek subsidiary. After the transfer, TotalEnergies has no remaining stake in Arctic LNG 2. Novatek originally held 60 percent of the project.
The exit had been flagged when the company reported its second-quarter 2026 results. Novatek initiated the discussions for the transfer to one of its own subsidiaries, and Russian authorities authorised the move in June.
TotalEnergies retains a right to reimbursement from Arctic LNG 2 for its share of shareholder loans advanced to the project, totalling approximately $1.3 billion. Any future repayment remains subject to applicable sanctions, which means the claim survives on paper without any assurance that it can be collected.
The residual loan position is the part of the arrangement with the longest tail. Equity in a sanctioned project can be walked away from; a loan claim against a sanctioned entity persists, cannot be enforced through ordinary channels while the measures remain, and has to be carried through the accounts of a company that no longer has any operational visibility into the borrower.
Arctic LNG 2 has continued to load despite Western sanctions, supported by a shuttle of LNG carriers operating outside the mainstream chartering market. The departure of the last Western shareholder removes the final direct commercial link between the project and a major European energy company, while doing nothing to alter the cargo flows themselves.
