In its quarterly report on Thursday, Total said it had recalled the request for permission to buy the shares from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service.
The company's report said the decision came after repeated delays in considering the bid for reasons that are hard to understand.
Earlier reports suggested that Total signed a deal to buy 25%+1 in the fixed capital of Novatek, an open joint stock company, for $1 billion.
Total requested authorization of the deal from the Federal Anti-Monopoly Service
but did not get it.
After Novatek, founded in 1994, announced its plans to hold the IPO, Total said it would not be able to buy the controlling stock in Novatek. The latter offered 19% of its shares in a public placement and raised $966 million. Underwriters then declared the Novatek-Total deal void.
