Ukraine issues dire warning over Zaporizhia plant

French oil and gas company Total Energies said on Friday it has sold its stake in a Russian jet fuel maker.

The comment follows the publication of an article by the French daily Le Monde on Thursday saying “the French oil and gas company and its local partner Novatek manage a gas field whose product is once converted into kerosene and used as fuel for Russian warplanes fighting in Ukraine”. Terneptegas, the company that manages the deposit, is 49% owned by Total Energies and 51% by Novatek.

In response to the Le Monde report, TotalEnergies released a statement saying that while Terneftegaz produces jet fuel at its Provskyi plant in western Siberia, it is not certified to be sold inside Russia.

“All fixed condensates produced at the Brovsky plant are delivered to the Ust-Luga processing complex in the Leningrad region from raw materials obtained from NOVATEK subsidiaries and subsidiaries, including Terneftegas. The range of products obtained during processing at Ust-Luga is complex jet fuel (Jet A-1) for export exclusively outside Russia. is being done, and is not even certified to be sold within the country,” Total Energies said.

The company said the media reports and calls for an investigation into its activities and its joint ventures were “totally baseless”.

The company later concluded, “No, Total Energies does not produce jet fuel for the Russian military.”

Following that statement, TotalEnergies also said it had “sold 49% of its stake in the Russian Termokarstovoye gas field to Novatek” and that it “continues to apply its principles of conduct”.

For his part, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on Total Energies on Friday to withdraw from Russia.

Guleba said on Twitter that his country thanks (French President) @EmmanuelMacron and the French people for supporting Ukraine, but “in this context, it is a shame for France that French companies help the killing and destruction of Ukrainians. Our cities”. @TotalEnergies, get out of Russia!”

Earlier this year, Total Energies also said it would stop buying Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.

However, the company said it will continue to buy natural gas from Russia.

“Unlike oil supplies, Europe’s gas logistics capabilities will be difficult to do without Russian gas in the next two to three years without affecting the continent’s energy supply,” Total Energies said in a statement.

The company said oil products produced by Saudi Arabia’s SATORP refinery, particularly diesel, are transported from elsewhere.

TotalEnergies contracts for Russian oil to account for 12% of Russia’s diesel exports to the EU in 2021, the report said.

The company reiterated that it does not operate oil or gas fields or liquefied natural gas plants in Russia, and that it is moving toward a gradual suspension of its operations in Russia.