Common Questions

Does TotalEnergies still buy Russian LNG?

Yes. TotalEnergies holds long-term contracts for Russian LNG that were grandfathered from the EU's April 2026 spot-contract ban and run until 1 January 2027. The company holds a 17% stake in Yamal LNG, Russia's main export plant. Its contracts expire on the same date as the EU's broader terminal services ban.Source: European Energy Markets briefing series

What is TotalEnergies' stake in Yamal LNG?

TotalEnergies holds a 17% stake in Yamal LNG, Novatek's operational 16.5 mtpa LNG plant on the Yamal peninsula in Russia.

Why has TotalEnergies not left Russia?

TotalEnergies has formal stakes in Yamal LNG and Arctic LNG 2 that are legally complex to unwind. The company faces investor and government pressure but has not formally exited Russian upstream assets.

Background

TotalEnergies faces a compressed procurement window as its grandfathered Russian LNG contract approaches the 1 January 2027 cliff. The 20th EU sanctions package (adopted 23 April 2026) bans EU terminal services for Russian LNG from that same date, meaning TotalEnergies cannot roll into a new contract arrangement or reroute volumes through EU infrastructure once the long-term agreement expires. The Q1 2026 quarterly record in EU Russian LNG imports, in which France was among the principal recipients, reflects front-loading behaviour consistent with TotalEnergies securing maximum offtake before the spot ban. The company's Q3-Q4 2026 replacement procurement is the critical variable: US, Qatari and West African LNG supply competes for the same replacement slots that Naturgy and SEFE are also seeking simultaneously.

More questions

What happens to TotalEnergies' Russian LNG contracts in 2027?

TotalEnergies' long-term Russian LNG contracts expire on 1 January 2027, the same date the EU's 20th sanctions package bans EU terminal services for Russian LNG. The company cannot renew or reroute through EU infrastructure after that date, creating a hard replacement procurement Deadline in the second half of 2026.Source: European Energy Markets briefing series

How the World Sees Them

France

Paris sees TotalEnergies' Russian contracts as a legacy liability but has not forced an early exit, prioritising supply security over reputational optics until January 2027.

Russia

Moscow views TotalEnergies' continued participation in Yamal LNG as a commercial anchor that limits the scope of Western LNG sanctions.

United States

Washington has pressed European majors to exit Russian LNG; TotalEnergies' continued exposure is a friction point in trans-Atlantic energy diplomacy.

European Union

Brussels grandfathered TotalEnergies' long-term contract in the April 2026 spot ban; pressure to include long-term contracts in the 20th sanctions package is building.