TotalEnergies to Reduce Stake in Papua LNG and Transfer Operatorship to ExxonMobil

TotalEnergies will sell a 9.1 percent stake in the Papua LNG joint venture to its partners and transfer the project's operatorship to ExxonMobil. TotalEnergies will retain a 20 percent stake in the project, which is co owned with ExxonMobil, Santos, Kumul Petroleum/MRDC, and ENEOS Xplora. The shares will be sold to partners in proportion to their existing interests, although a total sale price was not provided.

Australia's Santos reported that it acquired an additional 3.3 percent stake for 189 million dollars, increasing its total interest to 21 percent. This acquisition is subject to the project reaching a final investment decision, which is expected in the fourth quarter of 2026. TotalEnergies stated that commercial and contractual hurdles for that decision have been cleared.

The project is designed to produce 5.6 million tonnes per year from the Elk and Antelope fields in Papua New Guinea's Gulf Province. TotalEnergies noted that rebidding contracts and optimizing project design since 2024 has resulted in nearly 4 billion dollars in cost savings, reducing capital spending to approximately 14 billion dollars. ExxonMobil stated that bringing Papua LNG and PNG LNG under its operatorship is expected to improve execution efficiency and strengthen alignment across the projects.

Additionally, the companies have finalized an amended gas agreement with the government of Papua New Guinea and established a marketing joint venture with Kumul Petroleum to sell 2.4 million tonnes per year of the output. TotalEnergies will maintain its offtake share of 1.5 million tonnes per year.