French energy major TotalEnergies SE said on April 11 it would step up its LNG activities in the U.S. by expanding production at the Cameron site in Louisiana.

“We are pleased to take this new step with our partners to increase liquefaction capacity at Cameron LNG, a facility ideally located on the Atlantic basin for export to Europe,” Patrick Pouyanné, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, commented in a company release.

The move comes as European countries seek to reduce their dependency on gas flows from Russia. Pouyanné said TotalEnergies became the leading exporter of U.S. LNG in 2021, most of which has been exported to Europe in recent times, contributing to the continent’s security of energy supply.

“TotalEnergies is committed to further expanding its presence in the United States, thus meeting growing need for LNG, a key transition fuel,” he added.

Cameron LNG is jointly owned by Sempra Infrastructure (50.2%), TotalEnergies (16.6%), Mitsui & Co. Ltd. (16.6%) and Japan LNG Investment, company jointly owned by Mitsubishi Corp. and Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha, (16.6%).

On April 11, TotalEnergies said it had signed a heads of agreement with Sempra Infrastructure, Mitsui and Japan LNG Investment for the expansion of Cameron LNG.

The 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 release said.

Under the terms of the agreement, TotalEnergies will offtake 16.6% of the projected fourth train’s production capacity, and 25% of the projected debottlenecked capacity. Additionally, Cameron LNG advances the development of this project with the selection of two contractors to conduct a competitive FEED in view of the selection of the EPC contractor.

Development of the Cameron LNG expansion project remains subject to definitive agreements, obtaining the necessary permits, and all partners reaching a final investment decision planned for 2023.

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