Complicity in War Crimes: TotalEnergies Replies to the Allegations

After the serious and unfounded accusations of "complicity in war crimes" made to TotalEnergies , the Company shares with its stakeholders its principles of conduct regarding its Russian-related activities in order to enable them to understand how our Company is acting responsibly. Considering the worsening of the conflict, TotalEnergies is also taking new steps.

TotalEnergies reiterates its his strongest condemnation of the Russian military aggression against Ukraine, which has tragic consequences for the Ukrainian population and threatens peace in Europe.

To act responsibly, as a European company and in accordance with its values, TotalEnergies has defined clear principles of conduct for the management of its activities related to Russia:

• Ensure strict compliance with current and future European sanctions, regardless of the consequences on the management of its assets in Russia, and gradually suspend its activities in Russia while ensuring the safety of its workforce.

TotalEnergies reminds you that, contrary to what several commentators said , it does not manage any oil and gas fields or any liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Russia.

TotalEnergies is a minority shareholder of several Russian non-state companies: Novatek (19.4%), Yamal LNG (20%), Arctic LNG 2 (10%) and TerNefteGaz (49%).

These companies are managed by their own staff with a limited number of employees from TotalEnergies.

TotalEnergies is also a 20% partner in the Kharyaga joint venture managed by Zarubezhneft .

The Company has in fact contributed to the implementation phase of the projects of these companies but has no activities or operational responsibilities on these sites.

TotalEnergies only had 11 employees in these companies as of February 24, 2022 and only 3 seconded expats are in Russia as of today.

TotalEnergies has thus initiated the gradual suspension of its activities in Russia , ensuring the safety of its teams.

Similarly, TotalEnergies has decided to suspend its commercial developments for batteries and lubricants in Russia.

Do not provide additional capital for the development of projects in Russia.

As regards in particular the Arctic LNG 2 project, given the uncertainty created by the technological and financial sanctions on ability to carry out the Arctic LNG 2 project currently under construction and their likely escalation as the conflict escalates, TotalEnergies SE has decided to no longer register Arctic LNG 2 reserves in its accounts and will not provide any additional capital for this project.

Do not reverse the purpose of sanctions against Russia: do not unjustifiably transfer value to Russian interests by withdrawing from assets.

The current context of European sanctions and Russian laws controlling foreign investment in Russia would prevent TotalEnergies from finding a non-Russian buyer for its minority interests in Russia.

Abandoning these interests without consideration would enrich Russian investors , contradicting the purpose of the sanctions.

Furthermore, the abandonment of these minority stakes held by TotalEnergies would have no impact on the businesses and revenues of the companies, as these companies have their own employees and are managed independently.

Contribute to guaranteeing the security of energy supply of the European continent within the framework defined by the authorities European .

TotalEnergies is a European energy company that must contribute to the security of supply of the European continent, which does not have the same internal resources as other Western countries such as the United Kingdom or the United States.

In accordance with the decisions of the European Union to maintain Russian gas supplies at this stage, TotalEnergies continues to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas from Yamal LNG plant under long-term contracts which it must honor as long as European governments believe Russia needs gas.

Unlike oil, it is clear that Europe's gas logistical capabilities make it difficult to refrain from importing Russian gas in the next two or three years without affecting the continent's energy supply.

However, given the worsening situation in Ukraine and the existence of alternative sources to supply Europe, TotalEnergies unilaterally decided not to enter into or renew more contracts for the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products , in order to stop all its purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products as soon as possible and at the latest by the end of 2022.

TotalEnergies has already announced that it has stopped all trading on the spot market from February 25, 2022 on Russian oil and petroleum products. This also applies to spot trading transactions involving Russian natural gas or liquefied natural gas.

TotalEnergies has forward contracts for the purchase of Russian oil and petroleum products which expire on December 31, 2022 at the latest.

These forward contracts mainly cover supplies for the Leuna refinery in eastern Germany, served by the Druzhba pipeline from Russia. They also concern the supply of diesel in Europe, which is short of this product (about 12% of Russian diesel imports into Europe in 2021).

In close cooperation with the German government, TotalEnergies will terminate its Russian oil supply contracts for the Leuna refinery as soon as possible and at the latest by the end of 2022 and will implement alternative solutions by importing oil through Poland . Already at the end of March 2022 a first contract will not be renewed.

Regarding the shortage of diesel in Europe, in the absence of instructions to the contrary from the European governments, TotalEnergies will also solve its contracts for the purchase of Russian diesel as soon as possible and at the latest by the end of 2022.

TotalEnergies will import petroleum products from other continents, in particular its share of diesel produced by the Satorp refinery in Saudi Arabia.

Info: TotalEnergies

Automatic translation. We apologize for any inaccuracies. Original article in Italian.