TotalEnergies to Acquire Stake in Anadarko Gas Producing Assets

TotalEnergies SE has signed an agreement to buy a 49 percent stake in natural gas-producing assets operated by Continental Resources Inc on Oklahoma’s side of the Anadarko basin.

“These assets have the potential to reach a gross production of around 350 MMscfd by 2030 and to sustain this production level over the long term”, TotalEnergies said in a statement on its website. “They will enable TotalEnergies to secure a net gas production of around 150 MMscfd”.

“This acquisition of low-cost and long-plateau assets, well connected to Henry Hub through existing midstream infrastructure, further strengthens TotalEnergies’ integration across the liquefied natural gas value chain in the U.S.”, TotalEnergies said.

“This acquisition of non-operated shale gas assets complements the Dorado and Constellation acquisitions completed in 2024 in the Eagle Ford Basin”, it said, adding it also operates a production of around 500 million standard cubic feet a day in the Barnett shale play in Texas.

Last year TotalEnergies executed two Eagle Ford transactions with Lewis Energy Group LP. It intends to use its share of production from both acquisitions, which consisted of non-operating interests, in the producing Cameron liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in Louisiana, in which it owns a 16.6 percent stake.

The assets in the second of the two transactions with Lewis Energy can reach 400 million cubic feet a day (MMcfd) in gross production by 2028, TotalEnergies said in a statement September 27, 2024. The assets are in southwest Texas.

In the earlier transaction, TotalEnergies took over Lewis Energy’s 20 percent stake in the Dorado field. “Located in Texas, the Dorado field will allow TotalEnergies to increase its net U.S. natural gas production by 50 million cubic feet a day (MMcfd) in 2024, with the potential for an additional 50 MMcfd by 2028″, TotalEnergies said April 8, 2024.

The new Eagle Ford assets will supply Cameron LNG, a three-train facility with a capacity of 14.95 million metric tons per annum (MMtpa), an equivalent of 772 billion cubic feet a year of natural gas according to the Cameron LNG joint venture. TotalEnergies and its partners plan to add 6.75 MMtpa of capacity.

Earlier this month TotalEnergies said it had signed agreements with NextDecade Corp raising its stake in Rio Grande LNG in Brownsville, Texas.

TotalEnergies will take a 10 percent stake in the joint venture developing Train IV of Rio Grande LNG. “In addition to the 10 percent held directly, TotalEnergies will hold indirectly next to seven percent in this Train IV as a 17.1 percent shareholder of NextDecade”, TotalEnergies said in a statement September 10.

TotalEnergies already holds a 16.7 percent stake in the under-construction phase I, or trains I to III.

According to a Department of Energy (DOE) order August 13, 2020, amending Rio Grande LNG’s export permit, the facility’s five trains each have a nominal capacity of 5.4 MMtpa. However, Houston, Texas-based developer NextDecade has said phase I would be capable of up to about 18 MMtpa.

Announcing the FID for train IV on September 9, NextDecade said the newly approved train will grow Rio Grande LNG’s capacity to around 24 MMtpa when the train starts production 2030.

In total, Rio Grande LNG can export up to 1.32 trillion cubic feet a year of natural gas equivalent – 27 MMtpa of LNG from trains I to V – to FTA and non-FTA countries until 2050. DOE granted authorization through orders first issued – later amended – August 2016 for the portion for countries with a free trade agreement (FTA) with the U.S. and February 2020 for the non-FTA portion.

TotalEnergies says it is the biggest exporter of U.S. LNG, with over 10 million metric tons exported from the country last year.

To contact the author, email jov.onsat@rigzone.com