The FT has learned that TotalEnergies stands to benefit from the easing of EU sanctions on Russian gas

French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies will be able to continue selling gas from a major Siberian project to Asia after the European Union eased sanctions on Russian gas and allowed European companies to transport Russian liquefied natural gas to countries outside the bloc, the Financial Times reports, citing three sources.

TotalEnergies will be able to continue selling gas to customers in Asia from Russia’s “Yamal LNG”—a Siberian megaproject in which the French company holds a 20 percent stake—according to the FT, citing three sources familiar with the situation. On July 23, Reuters reported that as part of the 21st package of sanctions against Russia adopted last week, the EU had agreed to exemptions for the transport of Russian gas to third countries for one year, with automatic renewal. The day before—when the sanctions had not yet been approved—the Financial Times, citing sources, reported that similar exemptions had been granted to Dynagas, a Greek operator of gas tankers.

The exemption in question overturns the decision adopted by Brussels last October to ban Russian LNG shipments starting at the end of 2026. The newspaper notes that EU companies will now be able to continue fulfilling their obligations to “transship” LNG to third countries, provided that the contracts were signed before Russia’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine and the volumes do not exceed 2025 levels.

Total’s ability to fulfill existing contracts with Asian customers will soften the blow to the energy giant’s business resulting from the ban on imports of Russian LNG into the European Union under long-term agreements, which will take effect at the end of this year, the FT reports.

TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné previously stated that the company earns about $400 million a year from LNG sales from the Yamal project.

TotalEnergies declined to comment in response to the FT’s inquiry regarding the continuation of gas supplies from Yamal LNG.

Currently, most shipments from Yamal are headed to Europe, according to the FT: In the first half of 2026, a record 9.89 million metric tons were shipped from the Russian gas project to EU ports, while 510,000 metric tons were shipped to Asia.

Total shares rose by about 0.1% during trading in Paris on July 28. Year-to-date, they are up 34%. In U.S. pre-market trading, the company’s shares are up 0.7%; year-to-date, they have risen by more than 28%.

On July 23, EU countries agreed on the 21st package of sanctions against Russia. According to Reuters and the FT, as part of this package, an agreement was reached regarding the transport of Russian liquefied natural gas to third countries—outside the EU. The FT, citing an unnamed EU official, reports that such a move was justified because the vessels involved in transporting the raw material from Russia “would very quickly be taken over by Chinese operators... we would have imposed a ban, but it would not have affected Russian gas flows in any way.” According to the official, gas supplies from the “Sakhalin-2” project in eastern Russia were also exempted from sanctions until March 31, 2028—to avoid disruptions in LNG deliveries to Japan and South Korea.

According to the FT, the decision was made after Greece demanded a reversal of the sanctions policy regarding Russian LNG in exchange for agreeing to another—unrelated—package of measures against Moscow.

Total has now exited most of its Russian projects, having written off significant losses on its former assets in the country in 2022. Last week, the company confirmed that it is in the process of transferring a 10 percent stake in another major Siberian project, “Arctic LNG,” to an entity owned by Russia’s “NOVATEK.”

Nevertheless, the company retains a stake in "Yamal" and has previously stated that it would withdraw from the Siberian project only if pressured by sanctions.

According to Puyanne, the company also receives dividend income from its 20 percent stakes in both Yamal itself and its parent company, NOVATEK, although these payments have been irregular in recent years.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor