“Integrated LNG results are expected to be above $1 billion, in a context of low market volatility and a decrease in production due to unplanned maintenance on Ichthys LNG,” TotalEnergies said.
TotalEnergies has a 26 percent stake in the Inpex-operated Ichthys LNG project in Australia.
The two-train plant currently has a capacity of about 9.3 mtpa due to debottlenecking.
Last week, an Inpex spokesman told LNG Prime that the company had restarted the second Ichthys liquefaction train following a shutdown on August 22.
The spokesman also said that Train 1 is expected to “return to 100 percent by mid-November.”
TotalEnergies’ integrated LNG business logged a decline in its adjusted net operating income in the second quarter of this year due to lower prices.
The company’s integrated LNG adjusted net income reached about $1.15 billion in the second quarter, a drop of 13 percent compared to the second quarter in 2023.
Compared to $1.22 billion in the previous quarter, integrated LNG adjusted net income dropped 6 percent.
The company’s integrated LNG adjusted net income reached about $1.34 billion in the third quarter of 2023, a drop of 61 percent compared to the third quarter in 2022.
Price climbs
TotalEnergies reported a rise in its average price for equity LNG sales in the third quarter of this year.
The French firm said on Tuesday the average LNG price was $9.91/MMBtu in the July-September period, a rise of 3.7 percent compared to $9.56/MMBtu in the same quarter last year.
The average also rose compared to $9.32/MMBtu in the second quarter and $9.58/MMBtu in the first quarter of this year, and it was lower compared to $10.28/MMBtu in the fourth quarter of 2023.
TotalEnergies said in its Q2 results report that its average LNG selling price should be around $10/MMbtu in the third quarter given the evolution of oil and gas prices in recent months and the lag effect on price formulas.
According to TotalEnergies, its hydrocarbon production is expected to be at 2.4 Mboe/d, thanks to the ramp up of the Mero 2 project in Brazil that partially offsets unplanned shutdowns in Ichthys LNG and security-related disruptions in Libya.
TotalEnergies said its downstream results are expected to “sharply decrease” given much lower refining margins in Europe and in the rest of the world.
The company plans to release its results for the third quarter on October 31.
