Two Russian regions have demanded compensation from French oil company Total SA (TOT) for up to EUR170 billion related to oil fields which were never exploited, according to a report in French daily newspaper Le Figaro Thursday, citing unspecified sources.
No one at Total was immediately available for comment.
According to Le Figaro, a French prosecutor recently initiated a formal investigation regarding a possible breach of trust on the basis of a "complaint against person or persons unknown."
In an initial complaint lodged in August 2006, the two regions argued they were expecting to receive between $33 billion to $85 billion each from the processing by Total of their oil fields.