(Reuters) TotalEnergies said it would step up its liquefied natural gas activities in the United States by expanding production at the Cameron site in Louisiana.
The move comes as European countries seek to reduce their dependency on gas flows from Russia by importing more LNG via tankers.
"This expansion project includes the development of a fourth train with a production capacity of 6.75 million metric tons per annum (Mtpa), and a 5% increase of the current 13.5 Mtpa first three trains through debottlenecking", the company said in a statement.
Cameron LNG is jointly owned by Sempra Infrastructure (50.2%), TotalEnergies (16.6%), Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (16.6%) and Japan LNG Investment (16.6%), which is jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corporation and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha.
TotalEnergies it had signed an agreement with its partners for the expansion of Cameron LNG and that under the terms of the deal, it will offtake 16.6% of the projected fourth train’s production capacity, and 25% of the projected debottlenecked capacity.
The firm said that in recent years it has become the leading exporter of U.S. LNG, most of which has been exported to Europe. It added that it aims to further expand its presence in the United States to meet the growing need for LNG.
The Cameron LNG expansion is subject to obtaining the necessary permits and all partners reaching a final investment decision planned for 2023.
