14 March 2015, 18:07 GMT
MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The oil giant Total is seeking $15 billion in Chinese financing to fund its planned projects in Russia, as the company's expansion in Russia has become more complicated amid Western sanctions, Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne said Monday.
The Wall Street Journal cited Pouyanne as saying that the investment is needed for the $27-billion Yamal liquefied natural gas project in the Russian Arctic. Pouyanne elaborated that he wants to finalize a financing agreement by mid-2015.
Apart from Total, Russia's Novatek and China National Petroleum Corporation have invested in the Yamal project.
Total continues its strong cooperation with Russia despite sanctions imposed against Russia due to the Ukrainian crisis. Chinese financing may remove the obstacles of US sanctions, which limit Russian companies' access to the United States' financial markets. Total expects that Russia will be the most important region for its oil and gas output by 2020, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Yamal LNG gas project is expected to have a capacity of 16.5 million metric tons of gas a year, much of which will be supplied to China to meet its growing energy demand.
If China agrees to finance Total's project, it will be the largest reported private corporate deal that Chines banks have ever participated in, the Wall Street Journal said.
