TotalEnergies Expecting Q3 Lift from LNG

Written by Daniel Graeber for IIR News Intelligence (Sugar Land, Texas)

Summary

After a dismal performance in the second quarter, TotalEnergies is expecting to see a lift from its integrated LNG business. Its realized price for natural gas, based on the European benchmark, was up 20% from second-quarter levels.

Sharp Rise from Previous Quarter

With soaring natural gas prices, TotalEnergies said Thursday in a preview of its third-quarter earnings that it expected results from its liquefied natural gas (LNG) portfolio to rise sharply from the previous period.

TotalEnergies is behind one of the few projects in North America that can deliver LNG from the Pacific Coast, with a 16.6% stake in the Energia Costa Azul (ECA) LNG facility at Baja California's Pacific Coast in Mexico. In July, the company said the inaugural cargo was delivered to Asia.

In a preview of its third-quarter earnings report, the company said it expected results from its LNG segment to "rise sharply" due in no small part to a 20% increase in market prices since the second quarter.

TotalEnergies said gas market pressures stem from conflict in the Middle East and forecasts for strong winter demand. Yet its integrated LNG business saw a dramatic decline in income during the second quarter.

"The integrated LNG segment achieved adjusted net operating income and cash flow of $0.8 billion in the second quarter of 2026, decreasing significantly due to the underperformance of gas trading in a broadly flat to declining market in Europe, whereas it had outperformed in the first quarter," the company said at the time.

Nevertheless, the company reported that its adjusted net earnings surged 6% sequentially to reach $6 billion in the second quarter.

Billions in Investment Value Behind Natural Gas

Industrial Info Resources finds TotalEnergies is behind billions of dollars' worth of projects in the global LNG sector. With a total investment value of $15.5 billion, the Afungi (Mozambique) grassroot LNG plant is its largest. Industrial Info data show it could be completed by the end of 2029. TotalEnergies and its partners aim to build two liquefaction units, or trains, that would combine for around 13 million tons per annum (MTPA) in LNG exports if completed as planned.

More recently, TotalEnergies, alongside its joint venture partners in Azerbaijan, announced a final investment decision (FID) for the full development of the Absheron natural gas and condensate field in the Caspian Sea.

Data from Industrial Info Resources show affiliated projects combine for a total investment value of just over $2 billion, including $550 million along for pipelines and umbilicals.

The initial development has a production capacity of 53 billion cubic feet per year in natural gas and another 12,000 barrels per day (bpd) of condensate, the company said. That initial phase was brought online in 2023.

Elsewhere, TotalEnergies has a stake in Qatari LNG plants that were hobbled during the conflict. Two facilities, Ras Laffan North and Ras Laffan South, incurred drone damage in March, leading to a US$26 billion repair bill. Some LNG cargoes were delayed until December as a result. Industrial Info Resources offers more information on these facilities in its Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Oil & Gas Plant Database, where readers can find details in plant profiles of Ras Laffan North and Ras Laffan South.

TotalEnergies is part of a Qatari consortium that includes gas powerhouse Shell. In a preview of its own third-quarter performance, Shell said it expected its LNG volumes to be in the range of 7.2 million metric tons and 7.6 million metric tons, compared to second-quarter volumes of 7.7 million.

Roughly 20% of Shell's oil and gas production, or about 550,000 barrels of oil equivalent, had moved through the Strait of Hormuz before the fighting began in late February.

By the Numbers

• 6%: Quarterly boost in income to the second quarter for TotalEnergies
• 20%: Increase in realized natural gas prices since the second quarter

Key Takeaways

• A rebound by TotalEnergies is expected in gas following a lackluster Q2 for the segment.
• TotalEnergies has a billion-dollar natural gas portfolio.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, Industrial Info Resources is tracking over 250,000 current and future projects worth $30.2 Trillion (USD).