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Takes 26% Interest in Australia’s Cash-Maple Gas Discoveries for Long-term Ichthys LNG Supply
TotalEnergies has signed an agreement with CapeOmega Carbon Storage AS, a wholly owned subsidiary of CapeOmega AS, to acquire the 40% participating interest held by CapeOmega in the CO2 storage exploration license ExL004 (the “Luna” project).
Located 120 km offshore Bergen in 200 m water depth, ExL004 covers an area of 453 sq.km. It is adjacent to the license where the Northern Lights CO2 storage project (TotalEnergies, 33%) is under development, with a first phase due to start in 2024.
ExL004 is operated by Wintershall DEA Norge AS with a 60% participating interest. The transaction is subject to satisfaction of customary conditions, including final approvals from relevant government authorities.
“This transaction is an important milestone to grow our CO2 storage offering: subject to a successful exploration, this area could enable the storage of several hundred million tons of CO2 from hard-to-abate industries in Europe,” said Arnaud Le Foll, Senior Vice-President New Business – Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies. “With the Northern Lights start-up in 2024 and other projects under development in the Netherlands, Denmark and the UK, TotalEnergies is building a world-class carbon storage portfolio across the North Sea. Norway will play a leading role in this portfolio thanks to its large geological storages and supportive government policies.”
Meanwhile, TotalEnergies and INPEX have signed an agreement with PTTEP in order to acquire the 100% interest held by PTTEP in the AC-RL7 permit in Australia. Under the terms of the agreement, which is subject to approval by the relevant authorities, TotalEnergies will acquire a 26% interest in the permit in line with its equity in Ichthys LNG, while INPEX will acquire the remaining 74% and assume operatorship.
The permit covers an area of 418 sq.km in the Timor Sea, approximately 250 kilometers northeast of the Ichthys offshore facilities. This permit includes the Cash and Maple gas and condensate fields, discovered in 2002 and 1989 respectively, and subsequently appraised by several wells. The development of these fields is expected to contribute to the long-term supply of the Ichthys LNG natural gas liquefaction plant, in which TotalEnergies is a 26% partner while INPEX and other Asian minority shareholders hold the remaining 74%.
“Thanks to this joint acquisition together with our partner INPEX, we are pleased to secure additional resources for the future supply of the Ichthys LNG plant. These resources will help us to meet the long-term demand of our customers in the Asia-Pacific region for LNG. This acquisition is also supported by the efforts undertaken with INPEX in the Bonaparte CCS Assessment joint venture to appraise the area’s potential for geological storage of CO2, in order to abate CO2 emissions from the Ichthys LNG project”, said Julien Pouget, Senior Vice President Asia-Pacific, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
