Gas from TotalEnergies accused of being used for Russian warplanes

Gas from TotalEnergies accused of being used for Russian warplanes

The presence of TotalEnergie in Russia again singled out. The French group is accused by the NGO Global Witness of supplying liquefied gas to the Russian army which would make it possible to refuel the planes bombing Ukraine. Total formally denies this information revealed this Wednesday by the newspaper Le Monde.

It is Total’s gas condensate production in Russia that is denounced. The newspaper The world traces the path of this liquid hydrocarbon.

Exploited on a deposit of Termokarstovoïe by the company Terneftegaz – co-owned by the French group at 49% with the Russian Novatek (51%) -, this gas is then transformed into kerosene in a refinery in Siberia before being transported to two bases aerial sheltering squadrons of combat aircraft. Squadrons that would have struck the Ukrainian civilian population in Mariupol according to the organization Amnesty International.

These conclusions are based in particular on data from the Refinitiv database, which makes it possible to trace the supply chain, supported by satellite images. According to them, Terneftegaz shipments have represented more than 8% of the raw material received in Omsk in Russia since the invasion of Ukraine.

In a press release, TotalEnergies categorically refutes all the information published by The world. The French hydrocarbon giant explains that it has no operational role in the company operating the deposit.

Unlike other oil groups such as Shell, BP or Exxon, TotalEnergie has chosen to stay in Russia, thus continuing to export gas, particularly to Europe and benefiting at the same time from the surge in hydrocarbon prices. . 10.2 billion euros in net profit in the first half of 2022

The management of Total stressed at the start of the war that it would gradually suspend its activities on Russian territory, without however giving a precise date.


Our investigation shows that within a partnership, in Siberia, Total extracted a gas product then sent to a Russian refinery which supplies Russian aviation. This is the first time that we have proof of a clear link between TotalEnergies and Russian military operations in Ukraine. Military planes that take off from airbases receiving this fuel are suspected of having participated in several attacks against Ukrainian civilians. In particular a raid in Chernihiv, very close to kyiv, on March 3, which cost the lives of 47 civilians who were queuing for food. This is clearly a war crime.

Louis Wilson, of the NGO Global Witness

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