Maud Descamps, edited by Mélanie Faure 9:46 p.m., March 01, 2022

Bruno Le Maire's statement on industrial energy groups was enough to bring down the stock market prices of TotalÉnergies and Engie.

“I believe that there is now a problem of principle in working with any political or economic personality close to Russian power,” declared the French Minister of Economy on Tuesday.

But their establishment in Russia may make this difficult.

The economic consequences of the war in Ukraine on the world economy are increasingly felt.

Bruno Le Maire called on TotalÉnergies and Engie to leave Russian territory, where it is strongly committed, and thus follow BP and Shell.

The latter announced Monday to abandon its flagship liquefied natural gas site of Sakhalin 2 in which it holds a 27.5% stake.

The effect was immediate: in just a few minutes after the statement by the Minister of the Economy.

Engie shares lost just over 4% - it is the French energy industrial group which finances the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, which links Russia to Germany, and whose commissioning has been suspended.

Engie granted a loan of 987 million euros for the project. 

TotalEnergies maintains its presence

As far as TotalÉnergies is concerned, it's a completely different problem.

The group produces 17% of its oil and gas there - so it is very complicated to withdraw from the country. 

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The group has announced that it wishes to continue "assessing the consequences on its activities of the Western sanctions taken following the Russian offensive against Ukraine".

"TotalEnergies approves the scope and strength of the sanctions put in place by Europe and will implement them regardless of the consequences on the management of its assets in Russia," said the group headed by Patrick Pouyanné.

The specter of sanctions

Why this positioning?

Because TotalÉnergies has invested billions of euros in Russia in recent years, particularly in gas projects.

The group is much more involved than BP or Shell, which have chosen to leave Russia.

But the French giant may be forced to do so in the coming days by the sanctions imposed by the European Union against the Kremlin.