TotalEnergies Advances Papua LNG Project with Cost Cuts and Exxon Deal

TotalEnergies has made significant progress on its Papua LNG project in Papua New Guinea. The company has completed the tendering process for engineering, procurement, and construction work for the liquefied natural gas facilities, with contracts pending approval from joint-venture partners.

Cost savings of nearly $4 billion have been achieved since 2022 through rebidding contracts and optimizing project design, bringing capital spending down to around $14 billion. This development brings the project closer to a final investment decision, which CEO Patrick Pouyanné targets by November.

TotalEnergies has also passed operations of the project to ExxonMobil, which already runs the neighboring PNG LNG plant. The company will sell a 9.1% interest in the project to its partners while retaining a 20% stake and keeping its LNG off-take share intact.