French energy giant Total CEO: Rosneft has alternatives, but not natural gas | Blog Post
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The United States has been pressing the European Union to sanction Russian oil and natural gas. The United States is an oil and natural gas exporter and can naturally impose sanctions, but Europe has a hard time saying it.
On March 23 local time, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of French energy giant Total Group, said that his company could not stop importing natural gas from Russia because it could not find an alternative source. He also warned that without Russian gas, parts of the European economy would grind to a halt. Earlier, Total Group, under fire for its energy cooperation with Russia, was forced to announce that it would phase out its purchases of Russian oil by the end of this year, but it still retained some of its natural gas projects in Russia.
Total Group CEO Boujanel.
According to reports from France 24 TV and the European version of the “Politician” news network, Boujanel made the remarks in an interview with the French RTL TV station. Boujanel said that Russian oil is an alternative, but natural gas is not. He asked his critics, “At this stage, European governments have not decided to sanction Russian gas because we need it. Why do you want us at Total to cut off gas imports from Russia when no alternatives can be found?” ?”
“I’m very clear about this: if I decide to stop importing Russian gas, I don’t know how to replace it.” Boujanel warned that if gas imports from Russia were stopped, not only his company would suffer, but the entire European economy would suffer. affected.
He said Total would hand over billions of euros in liquidated damages to Russian investors if the cooperation was interrupted; if other European companies followed suit, it would force parts of the European economy to a standstill.
“Without Russian gas, parts of the European economy would grind to a halt. If we stop importing gas from Russia, we know we’ll have problems in the winter of 2023. We’re probably going to have to limit gas use in January, which is not For the family, but for the industry.”
“I know how to replace Russian oil and diesel, but with gas I have nothing to do. I don’t know how to replace it, there is no other option. We have a 25-year contract and I can’t quit,” Boujanel explained, unless Europe Governments have sanctioned Gazprom so companies can declare breaches of the contract “due to force majeure”, otherwise breaking the contract would cost Total Group billions of euros in fines to Russia.
If the EU eventually decides to ban imports of Russian gas, Total will comply with that policy, Boujanel said.
France 24 TV mentioned that, as the company with the highest annual revenue in France, Total Group holds shares in Gazprom and other companies, and its position in Russia is more stable than many competitors, and it is more vulnerable to the influence of the Russian gas industry.
French Green Party presidential candidate Jadot.
After the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Western companies announced their withdrawal from Russia, which put Total in a dilemma. The company has come under fire in the past few weeks by NGOs and French Green Party presidential candidate Yannick Jadot, who critics say did not leave Russia immediately, like some international rivals. They accused the energy giant of funding Putin’s war.
Under the heavy pressure, Total announced on March 22 that it would gradually stop buying Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of 2022, but the company did not completely withdraw from cooperation with Russia, but said it would continue to hold two large Russian oil companies. Minority stakes in LNG plants because companies were unable to find non-Russian buyers for those stakes.
The move did little to dispel the doubts of critics. Jado, who is under campaign pressure, continued to “fire” at Total on Twitter on Wednesday: “With President Macron’s support, Total has made some concessions, but still retains its core business in Russia, they know Knowing that he financed war crimes… yes, that’s complicity!”
Boujanel shot back that Jadot’s “defamation” was of an “extremely serious” nature, “an insult and unacceptable”, which would lead to a further decline in Jadot’s public opinion ratings. “It’s better for him to worry about his campaign than to insult us.”
Total later said it would sue the Green Party presidential candidate for “defamation”. The company defended the purchase of Russian gas in a statement sent to French media, saying it was “for the benefit of European consumers”.
Total is not the only French company to be criticized for its ties to Russia.
On the afternoon of March 23, local time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky once again called on French companies to withdraw from the Russian market, including Renault, Leroy Merlin, Auchan and other well-known companies, when delivering a video speech at the French National Assembly.
However, Leroy Merlin reiterated that day that it will not withdraw from the Russian market. A withdrawal from Russia would be considered a premeditated bankruptcy, thereby giving Russia ownership.
deep throat
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