TotalEnergies currently earns around $400 million per year from selling cargoes of liquefied gas from Russia's Yamal LNG plant. This income fluctuates with Brent crude oil prices and is managed by a UK entity with direct access to cash. These earnings persist even after Moscow's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, with the company opting to keep its stakes in Russian projects but deconsolidate them from official reports.
The French oil major's CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, stated on a recent earnings call that the European Union is currently importing record volumes of LNG from Russia's largest LNG plant, Yamal, although EU sanctions are set to ban these imports next year. This $400 million income represents one part of TotalEnergies' involvement in Russia.
The other significant portion of income for TotalEnergies comes from dividends related to its 20% ownership stake in Yamal LNG and a 19.4% stake in Yamal's parent company, Novatek. While some cash flow from these dividends has been distributed, not the entire amount has been repatriated due to sanctions imposed by both Europe and Russia, which restrict money transfers. In 2024, Novatek dividends were estimated at about $600 million per year, which remain stuck overseas, unable to be transferred.
