LNG

TotalEnergies, the French major with multiple energy and LNG projects under development, has pledged at a two-day meeting of the board to maintain a multi-energy strategy with current Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné at the helm.

The company said the board met on September 20-21 in Paris to review the strategic outlook in the context of “changing energy markets because of the energy transition and evolving geopolitical” events.

TotalEnergies has oil and gas interests from Argentina to Asia and is a leading global LNG market participants. Its immediate LNG plans include developing the huge onshore Mozambique LNG export project,  expanding LNG production in Papua New Guinea and taking part in the liquefaction build-out in Qatar.

Relevance

The board noted the relevance of the company’s balanced multi-energy strategy considering the developments in the oil, gas and electricity markets. 

“Thanks to refocusing the oil and gas portfolio on assets and projects with low breakeven and low greenhouse gas emissions, and to the diversification into electricity, notably renewable, through an integrated strategy from production to customer, the company is in a very favorable position to take advantage of changing energy markets and prices” the board said in a statement.

With a breakeven anchored below $25 a barrel of oil, TotalEnergies said it was a much more “efficient and profitable company today than it was 10 years ago” at the same oil equivalent price.

The board noted that the company managed to generate an additional $15 billion of cash flow in 2022. 

“Thus, by end-2022, the company benefits from a fortress balance sheet and is positioned to both implement its transition strategy and to guarantee an attractive shareholder return policy,” the board added.

Continuity

The board said that while it was reaffirming its support for the “quality and the relevance” of the strategy, which will be presented to investors on September 27, the Board considers as appropriate to ensure the continuity of the company’s governance and leadership.

“The board, thus, considers that it is highly desirable that Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO, continues to drive this strategy’s deployment at the helm of the company,” the company declared.

“On the proposal of the Governance and Ethics Committee, it has therefore unanimously decided that the renewal of the mandate of Patrick Pouyanné will be proposed to the General Meeting in May 2024,” it said.

Jacques Aschenbroich, the lead independent director at the French major, underlined and also expressed his confidence in the current leadership.

“Since 2014, Patrick has done an extraordinary job leading TotalEnergies in a complex environment, delivering outstanding financial results and engaging the company in the energy transition quicker and stronger than its peers,” said Aschenbroich. 

“The board unanimously looks forward to his continued leadership and his strategic vision,” stated Aschenbroich.

TotalEnergies, one of the leading global liquefied natural gas market participants and with plans to re-start the onshore Mozambique LNG export project and expand Papua New Guinea LNG, reported a 12 percent increase in first-quarter net profits compared with the 2022 quarter even amid a softening of oil and gas prices.

French major TotalEnergies reported a 43 percent increase in third-quarter net profits to $6.6 billion, driven by its liquefied natural gas business even with taking a $3Bln hit over Russian assets and temporary problems affecting supplies from liquefaction plants in Egypt, Nigeria, Australia and the US.

Oct 14 (LNGJ) - TotalEnergies said the performance of its LNG assets was expected to show a strong increase because of higher average LNG prices when its third-quarter earnings are published next week. “Performance of the gas, LNG and power trading activities is expected to remain high with our integrated portfolio able to capture opportunities in a volatile and dislocated environment,” said the Paris-based company in a pointer to its earnings.

   TotalEnergies indicated that the average attained LNG price in the third quarter to the end of September 2022 was $21.51 per million British thermal units compared with $13.96 per MMBtu in the second quarter and $9.10 per MMBtu in third quarter of 2021. The company said upstream production was expected to be 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day lower than in the second quarter, mainly due to unplanned outages in the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan.

French major TotalEnergies reported an almost three-fold surge in second-quarter adjusted net income to $9.8 billion compared with $3.46Bln in the prior-year quarter even after a  $3.5Bln impairment charge related mainly to the potential impact of international sanctions on the value of its Novatek stake.

July 15 (LNGJ) - TotalEnergies has issued a series of hints about its forthcoming second-quarter earnings statement. “Performance of the gas, LNG and power trading activities is expected to remain high, but without replicating the exceptional contribution of the first quarter of 2022,” said the Paris-based company in a message to the stock exchange.

   The company said its average realised LNG price in the second quarter was $13.96 per million British thermal units compared with $13.60 per MMBtu in the first three months of 2022 and $6.99 per MMBtu in the second quarter of 2021. “Upstream production is expected to be lower than in the first quarter, mainly due to disruptions in Nigeria and Libya for security reasons, as well as a higher volume of planned maintenance,” added TotalEnergies.

TotalEnergies posted annual net income of $16.03 billion versus losses of $7.42Bln the previous year and the earnings included a 10 percent increase in LNG sales totalling 42 million tonnes in 2021.

The company’s LNG sales for the fourth quarter jumped 16 percent to 11.2MT and the average LNG selling price was $13.12 per million British thermal units in the final three months of 2021, an increase of 44 percent compared with the third quarter.

Fourth-quarter net income came to $5.83Bln versus $847 million in the same three months of 2020.

Hydrocarbon production for LNG increased 6 percent year-on-year in the fourth quarter.

“LNG sales increased sharply on higher production from Cameron LNG in Louisiana and Freeport LNG in Texas, up 16 percent in the fourth quarter compared to a year ago and up 10 percent for full-year 2021 versus 2020,” stated the Paris-based company.

TotalEnergies also announces its decision not to sanction and to withdraw from the North Platte deepwater project in the US Gulf of Mexico.

“The decision not to continue with the project was taken as the company has better opportunities of allocation of its capital within its global portfolio,” said TotalEnergies.

TotalEnergies held a 60 percent operated interest in North Platte, alongside its joint-interest owner Equinor of Norway, which held 40 percent. .

“We have duly notified our partner and the relevant authorities of the immediate withdrawal from the project, and of its resignation as operator which will be effective following a short transition period to ensure an orderly hand-over of operatorship,” stated the company.

Brazil and Africa

TotalEnergies at the same time is increasing its presence in Brazil and Africa by entering the Brazilian Atapu and Sépia giant fields and launching the Lake Albert Resource Development Project for Uganda and Tanzania.

The French major’s annual results showed generated cash flow of $30.7Bln, which was $13Bln more than in 2020, and adjusted annual gross earnings came to $42.3bln.

“The integrated Gas, Renewables and Power segment reported adjusted net operating income of $2.8Bln and cash flow of $2.4Bln in the fourth quarter, bringing full-year results and cash flow to $6.2Bln and $6.1Bln, respectively,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné.

“These historic results build on the globally integrated LNG portfolio, leveraging rising oil and gas prices and outperformance in the gas and LNG trading business,” he added.

“The profitable growth strategy in Renewables & Electricity continues with more than 10 gigawatts of installed gross capacity and more than 6 million electricity customers at year-end 2021,” stated the CEO.

TotalEnergies said it its 2022 outlook that it expected to continue the momentum that has been underway for several years.

“TotalEnergies is implementing its strategy of integrated growth in LNG, which will generate structural cash flow growth of $1Bln in 2022,” stated the company

“In addition, given the evolution of oil and gas prices in recent months and the lag effect on price formulas, TotalEnergies anticipates that its average LNG selling price should remain at a high level of at least $12 per MMBtu in the first half of 2022,” it added.

TotalEnergies of France said it benefited from a leading position in liquefied natural gas to generate $4.8 billion in adjusted third-quarter net income versus $848 million in the 2020 quarter while cash flow amounted to $8.4Bln.