Interview:Patrick Pouyanné: Sanctions didn’t make our work easier

French petroleum company Total together with Novatek and Chinese partners has still attracted funding for the major Russian LNG project of Yamal LNG. Chief Executive Officer of Total Patrick Pouyanné has told the Kommersant, why European banks didn’t take place in the funding, about gas price forecasts and risks, associated with the export of liquefied natural gas from the United States.

- Tell us about the current situation with the Yamal LNG project. Do you keep your forecast on start of the shipments of liquefied natural gas in the fourth quarter of 2017?

- The project is implemented in accordance with the schedule, 15 thousand people work at the site, modules of the LNG plant are delivered from shipyards in China, and it’s important to have time to carry out the delivery during the period of favorable ice conditions. The issue with the project financing has been successfully resolved, it will be mainly carried out in euro. I consider positive the fact that, despite the limitations because of the sanctions, we were still able to find ways to raise the funds. A significant part will be provided by Chinese banks (in April, Yamal LNG reached an agreement to attract $12 billion from the China Exim Bank and China Development Bank), we also entered into agreements with Russian banks in euro and yuans to the amount, equivalent of about $4 billion.