TotalEnergies to halt all Russian oil purchases by year-end

By SYLVIE CORBET
The Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French energy giant TotalEnergies says it has decided to halt all its purchases of Russian oil and petroleum products by the end of the year at the latest. The French company said in a statement Tuesday that it will “gradually suspend its activities in Russia” amid the worsening situation in Ukraine. It stressed “the existence of alternative sources for supplying Europe” with oil. Russia represented 17% of the company’s oil and gas production in 2020.  The group said it will continues to supply Europe with liquefied natural gas from Russia’s Yamal LNG plant “as long as Europe’s governments consider that Russian gas is necessary.”