(AOF) – TotalEnergies has obtained two permits to explore the potential for storing CO2 in the Danish waters of the North Sea. These permits cover an area of 2,118 square kilometers approximately 250 kilometers off the west coast of Denmark. These two permits cover an area comprising the Harald gas fields, currently operated by TotalEnergies and for which the Company is already evaluating the potential for CO2 storage within the framework of the Bifrost project, as well as a saline aquifer likely to increase the volumes stored. and thus provide a competitive solution on the market.
Alongside the public company Nordsøfonden (20%), TotalEnergies (80%) will be the future operator of these offshore storage permits. The Company will carry out evaluation and appraisal work in order to develop a project that could ultimately ensure the transport and permanent storage of more than 5 Mt CO2/year thanks to the reuse of existing infrastructure and the construction new facilities.
Arnaud Le Foll, New Business Director – Carbon Neutrality at TotalEnergies, said: “With the Northern Lights project under construction in Norway and several others in development in the Netherlands and the UK, the North Sea region will be the main contributor to our objective of 10 Mt of CO2 stored per year by 2030 and thus to the decarbonisation of the European economy.”
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Key points
– Integrated energy group, 3rd world oil company, 2nd gas company and world number in solar energy with Sun Power;
– Activity of $141 billion organized into 4 branches: 45% for marketing & services (distribution networks, etc.), 40% in refining & chemicals, 11% in renewables, gas and electricity, then exploration- production ;
– Economic model of transformation in ten years into a multi-energy group, producer of oil & LNG (liquefied natural gas), renewable energies & electricity and hydrogen & biomass;
– Open capital (6.4% held by employees), the 12-member Board of Directors being chaired by Patrick Pouyanné, also Chief Executive Officer;
– Solid balance sheet a debt ratio of 4% at the end of September well below the target of 20%.
Challenges
– 2020-2030 strategy + energy, – emissions:
– 30% growth in energy production, powered 50% by renewable electricity, 50% by LNG, the share of oil falling from 55% to 30%,
– change in the distribution of sales -30% petroleum products, 50% gas, 15% electricity and 5% biomass and hydrogen,
– discipline in investments -$13 to $15 billion per year over 2022-2025, of which 50% allocated to renewables and electricity and 50% to natural gas;
– Innovation strategy led by One Tech, endowed with $850 million for 18 R&D centers:
– 3 hubs: industrial, development and support,
– 5 programs: production, CO2 and sustainability, operational efficiency of upstream, downstream & polymers, fuel and lubricants,
– a digital factory to generate $1.5 billion in savings by 2025;
– Environmental Strategy 2050:
– carbon neutrality for the group’s operations and products sold in Europe, reduction of 60% or more in the carbon intensity of products used outside Europe;
– 4 axes: growth in the gas value chains (natural, biogas and hydrogen), in low-carbon electricity (annual budget of $1.5 to 2 billion), in low breakeven oil, in biofuels , in activities contributing to carbon neutrality (natural wells, forests, etc.),
– solar and renewables: production capacity of 25 Gw by 2025,
– carbon fund endowed with $400 million to be invested by 2025;
– In renewables & electricity, capacity portfolio of 35 GW by 2025, including +20 GW secured by long-term purchase contracts;
– Acceleration of the energy transition with equity investments in 2 Qatari and Indian projects (solar, LNG and hydrogen) and in Clearway, 5th American in renewables…;
– Industrial excellence in oil production with a breakeven point of -20 $/b, with numerous projects in progress (Nigeria) or launched (Angola, Argentina and a discovery in Cyprus.
Challenges
– Sensitivity to the price of a barrel of oil and to the dollar, an increase of $10 per barrel having an impact on operating profit of $2.7 billion; a decline of $10 affecting it by $100 million;
– Geopolitical risks in Africa (30% of the group’s production);
– Russia-Ukraine war: €10.7 billion in provisions on investments in Russia (Arctic LNG project, Novatek, Yamal and Terneftegaz);
– After a 69% jump in net income at the end of September 2022 and free cash flow of $24.1 billion, prospects for 2022 of higher hydrocarbon production with high selling prices, renewable capacities and electricity in excess of 16 GW thanks to dedicated investments of $3.5 billion (a quarter of total investments), a downstream contribution (petrochemicals, biofuels and electric mobility) of €6 billion to free cash flow;
– 3rd interim dividend for 2022, of €0.69 paid in April, exceptional dividend of €1 paid in December and maintenance of share buybacks, of $2 billion in the 3rd quarter, triggered according to the formula 40% of cash flow generated by hydrocarbon prices above $60 a barrel.
Find out more about the “oil and para-petroleum” sector
Biogas to green activities
Obtained through the decomposition of waste, it falls into the category of green energy. It is part of the strategy of many countries, particularly in Europe, to reduce their dependence on hydrocarbon imports. The oil groups have strong ambitions in the field, as revealed by two recent operations. The British BP took over the American Archaea Energy for 4.1 billion dollars. Then, the Anglo-Dutch, Shell, announced the acquisition of the Danish Nature Energy for 2 billion dollars. These transactions show high valuation levels, underlining the strong potential of the sector. TotalEnergies had already taken a stake in the American Clean Energy Fuels Corp in 2018, of which it now holds 19%. It recently joined forces with Veolia to recover biomethane from waste treatment facilities.