Total buys Engie upstream LNG for US$1.49bn

TOTAL has bought Engie’s upstream liquefied natural gas assets for US$1.49bn.

The French oil giant will make additional payments to Engie of US$550m if the oil markets improve over the coming years. The assets include various participating interests in liquefaction plants, including the Cameron LNG project in the US, Engie’s LNG tanker fleet, long-term LNG sales and purchase agreements, and access to European gasification facilities.

Patrick Pouyanné, Total chairman and CEO, said that buying the assets will mean that the group can more quickly implement its plans to integrate along the full gas value chain, and gain more access to the LNG market, which is currently growing at a rate of 5-6% annually.

“The combination of these two complementary portfolios will allow the group to manage an overall volume of around 40m t of LNG per year by 2020, making Total the second largest global player among the majors with a worldwide market share of 10%,” he said.