Arctic LNG 2 exit ticked off the list: TotalEnergies retains $1.3 billion loan claim

August 31, 2026, by Melisa Cavcic

France’s energy giant TotalEnergies has wrapped up its exit from a Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, giving up its stake but retaining rights to recover around $1.3 billion in shareholder loans, subject to sanctions.

TotalEnergies has completed the transfer of its 10% interest in Arctic LNG 2 to NordLine, a Novatek subsidiary. As a result, the French company is no longer a shareholder in this major LNG project on Russia’s Gydan Peninsula.

The firm highlighted: “As part of the transfer agreement, TotalEnergies retains its rights to be reimbursed by Arctic LNG 2 for its share of the loans provided by the shareholders to the project, for an amount of around $1.3 billion. Such reimbursement might be implemented in the future subject to applicable sanctions.”

The LNG development, which became commercially constrained by sanctions, was designed to encompass around three liquefaction trains with a total planned capacity of 19.8 million tonnes per year. The original plan was to bring the first train online in 2023, with the other trains following suit in 2024 and 2026.

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TotalEnergies is actively developing other assets in its portfolio, including an LNG project in Oceania for which it recently picked Daewoo Engineering & Construction (Daewoo E&C) as the preferred bidder in Papua New Guinea.