Wed 08 February 2023:
TotalEnergies of France has put a planned investment in Adani Group’s USD 50 billion hydrogen project on hold pending the results of an audit launched in response to allegations made by a US short-seller, said CEO Patrick Pouyanné on Wednesday.
The hydrogen partnership announced by the two groups last year “hasn’t been signed, and won’t be signed for the moment,” TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said at an earnings presentation near Paris on Wednesday. “We’ll wait for the results of the audits.”
While the partnership where the French oil giant was to take a 25 per cent stake in the hydrogen venture of the Adani group was announced in June last year, TotalEnergies has not yet signed a contract, he said at an earnings call. “Obviously, the hydrogen project will be put on hold until we have clarity” from Adani group on the allegation levelled by US short-seller Hindenburg Research, Pouyanne said.
TotalEnergies is one of the biggest foreign investors in billionaire Gautam Adani’s business empire and had previously taken stakes in the group’s renewable energy venture, Adani Green Energy Ltd and city gas unit, Adani Total Gas Ltd.
As per the June 2022 announcement, TotalEnergies was to take 25 per cent equity in Adani New Industries Ltd (ANIL) – the Adani Group firm that is investing USD 50 billion over 10 years in a green hydrogen ecosystem that includes an initial production capacity of 1 million tonnes before 2030.
Total, France’s largest oil and gas company, first joined hands with Adani in 2018 for a liquefied natural gas (LNG) venture before buying a 19.75 per cent stake in Adani Green Energy Ltd and a stake in solar assets for USD 2.5 billion in 2020-21. It also took a 37.4 per cent stake in Adani Total Gas Ltd, the firm that retails CNG to automobiles and piped natural gas to household kitchens and industries.
Last week, the firm said its investments in Adani group companies were in full compliance with the law. “TotalEnergies’ investments in Adani’s entities were undertaken in full compliance with applicable – namely Indian – laws, and with TotalEnergies’ own internal governance processes,” it had said in a statement on Friday.
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It added that it “welcomes the announcement by Adani to mandate one of the ‘big four’ accounting firms to carry out a general audit”.
TotalEnergies’ exposure resulting from these stakes is limited, as it represents 2.4 per cent (USD 3.1 billion as of December 31, 2022) of the company’s capital employed and only USD 180 million of net operating income in 2022, the firm had said on Friday.
“These investments being accounted for under the equity method, TotalEnergies has not performed any re-evaluation in its accounts of its stakes in the listed entities ATGL and AGEL in relation to the increase in their stock values,” the statement added.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES
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