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French energy giant TotalEnergies said on Tuesday it supports EU sanctions against Russia in response for its military offensive in Ukraine but the company stopped short of saying it would divest or pull out of the country.
The move comes after rival BP agreed to unload its Rosneft 20 per cent stake and Shell said it will end its alliance with Gazprom as well. Exxon holds a 30 per cent stake, alongside Rosneft, Japan's Sodeco and India's ONGC Videsh, in the Sakhalin Island oil and gas fields in Russia’s far east.
"TotalEnergies supports the scope and strength of the sanctions put in place by Europe and will implement them regardless of the consequences [currently being assessed] on its activities in Russia," the company said.
TotalEnergies said it will no longer provide capital for new projects in Russia and that it "condemns" Russia's military offensive in Ukraine.
The company said it expresses its "solidarity with the Ukrainian people who are suffering the consequences and with the Russian people who will also suffer the consequences".
TotalEnergies is "mobilised to provide fuel to the Ukrainian authorities and aid to Ukrainian refugees in Europe", the company said.
TotalEnergies holds a 19.4 per cent interest in Novatek as well as other oil and gas projects in Russia, according to its website.
“Stricter rules around access to the international financial system could hurt international oil companies’ ability to receive dividends and other payments,” according to global consultancy Wood Mackenzie. “Targeted sanctions against their Russian partners seem unlikely, but would present a much more profound challenge.”
BP shares fell about 7 per cent after the company announced its decision to divest from Russia.
Ukraine-Russia crisis - in pictures
