Global Witness: French TotalEnergies was the third largest player in LNG sales in Russia last year

(Patria) - Energy giants TotalEnergies and Shell defended their activities related to Russia after
a critical report on their natural gas trade despite the war in Ukraine, AFP reported.

The campaign group Global Witness said that TotalEnergies was the third largest player in Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) last year, and Shell the fourth, behind two Russian companies. The report focused on British Shell, after Global Witness said it had previously looked at TotalEnergies from France.

“Russian LNG exports help finance the war in Ukraine and were estimated at 21 billion dollars in 2022,” it states. “Few companies have helped this trade more than Shell, and Global Witness estimates that Shell earned hundreds of millions last year trading Russian LNG. Despite war crimes, this trade helps finance it, it is legal.

Shell, the United Kingdom and the European Union should stop it immediately,” it adds. Both companies said they are bound by ongoing contracts despite withdrawing from Russian partnerships after Ukraine was invaded last year.

“Shell has stopped buying Russian LNG on the spot market, but still has some long-term contractual obligations,” a Shell spokesperson said, insisting that all laws and sanctions restrictions are respected.

“There is a dilemma between putting pressure on the Russian government for its crimes in Ukraine and ensuring stable, secure energy supplies,” it states.

“It is up to governments to decide on the incredibly difficult trade-offs that must be made,” they added.

In Paris, TotalEnergies emphasized “its duty to contribute to the security of Europe's gas supply from the Yamal LNG plant (in Siberia) under long-term contracts that it must respect as long as European governments do not impose sanctions on Russian gas.”