Petroleum giant Total’s acquisition of Engie’s portfolio of upstream liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets for an overall enterprise value of $1.5-billion, has closed.
An additional payment of $550-million could accrue in case of an improvement in the oil markets in the coming years.
The portfolio includes participating interests in liquefication plants, notably the interest in the Cameron LNG project, in the US, as well as long-term LNG sales and purchase agreements, an LNG tanker fleet, and access to regasification capacities in Europe.
“Acquiring Engie’s LNG business is a real step change for Total, allowing us to leverage size and flexibility in the fast-growing and increasingly commoditised LNG market.”
“This transaction makes Total the second-largest global LNG player among the majors with a worldwide market share of 10% and the group will manage an overall LNG portfolio of around 40-million tonnes a year by 2020,” said Total chairperson and CEO Patrick Pouyanné.
It also helps Total build a position in the US LNG market, with the 16.6% stake in the Cameron LNG project.