Total seeks China finance for Russia project
France’s oil and gas producer Total is looking for $15 billion in investment from Chinese investors to finance its part of a giant gas field development in Russia, the company’s chief executive says.
"You have a strong willingness to build the project financing" from financial institutions in China, the Wall Street Journal quoted Patrick Pouyanne as saying.
The announcement comes as the US sanctions against Russia over its alleged role in the Ukraine crisis block investment in that country.
Total has a $27 billion commitment in Yamal liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in the Russian Arctic. Like Total, China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) has a 20 percent stake in the project.
"It’s not an easy task, to be clear. We would have preferred to do it with dollars," said Pouyanne.
He said he hoped to have the necessary investment, either in euros and yuan, secured by the middle of 2015.
Russia’s private company Novatek holds the majority 60 percent stake in the project which is expected to start shipping LNG in a couple of years.
Total expects Russia to be producing 400,000 b/d of oil by 2020.
Amid a standoff over Ukraine, the US and Europe have slapped a series of economic sanctions on Russia in recent months.
The sanctions limit the transfer of technology related to some unconventional drilling techniques to Russian firms. They include methods for shale oil recovery as well as technology needed for Arctic and offshore oil projects.
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