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The company’s integrated LNG adjusted net income reached about $1.06 billion in the third quarter, a drop of 8 percent compared to the third quarter in 2023.
Compared to $1.15 billion in the previous quarter, integrated LNG adjusted net income dropped 7.7 percent.
TotalEnergies attributed the drop to lower hydrocarbon production for LNG.
Moreover, gas trading “did not fully benefit from markets characterized by low volatility,” it said.
TotalEnergies said cash flow from operations excluding working capital (CFFO) was $888 million in the third quarter, down 27 percent quarter-to-quarter, for the same reasons and due to a timing effect in dividend payments from some equity affiliates of around $200 million.
Earlier this month, TotalEnergies said that its third-quarter LNG results are expected to be above $1 billion.
“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,” TotalEnregies 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.
Earlier this month, 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.”
LNG 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 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.
Net income at $4.1 billion
Overall, TotalEnergies reported adjusted net income of $4.07 billion in the third quarter.
This compares to $4.67 billion in the prior quarter and $6.45 billion in the same quarter in 2023.
“In a volatile oil environment with sharply declining refining margins, TotalEnergies demonstrates the resilience of its integrated multi-energy model with $4.1 billion adjusted net income and $6.8 billion CFFO in the third quarter of 2024,” chief executive Patrick Pouyanne, said.
During the third quarter, upstream production was 2.41 Mboe/d, benefiting from the ramp up of Mero 2 in Brazil that partially offset production losses at Ichtys LNG and in Libya, he said.
“Comforted by these robust results, the board of directors decided the distribution of the third interim dividend of 0.79 €/share for fiscal year 2024, an increase of close to 7 percent compared to 2023, and authorized the company to execute share buybacks of $2 billion in the fourth quarter of 2024, in line with the objective of reaching $8 billion throughout the year,” Pouyanne said.
LNG sales down
During the third quarter, TotalEnergies sold 9.5 million tonnes of LNG, down 9.5 percent compared to 10.5 million tonnes in the same period last year, but up 8 percent compared to 8.8 million tonnes in the prior quarter.
TotalEnergies said LNG sales increased quarter-to-quarter, mainly due to higher spot volumes, in a context of seasonal inventory replenishment.
During January-September, LNG sales decreased 11 percent to 29 million tonnes.
Hydrocarbon production for LNG in the third quarter was down 7 percent quarter-to-quarter to 465 kboe/d, notably linked to unplanned maintenance on Ichthys LNG.
The production rose compared to 433 kboe/d in the third quarter of 2023.
Average LNG selling price to be around $10/MMbtu in Q4
“In a context of modest global macroeconomic growth and geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, oil prices are volatile,” TotalEnergies said.
At the end of October, the European Refining Marker (ERM) is close to 25 $/t, compared to an average of 15$/t in the third quarter.
TotalEnergies said European gas prices remain at sustained levels and are expected to be between $12 and $13/MMbtu in the fourth quarter 2024, supported by the anticipation of winter gas consumption.
Given the evolution of oil and gas prices in the recent months and the lag effect on price formulas, TotalEnergies anticipates that its average LNG selling price should be around $10/MMbtu in the fourth quarter of this year.
Fourth-quarter hydrocarbon production is expected to be between 2.4 and 2.45 Mboe/d.
The company confirmed net investments guidance of $17-$18 billion in 2024.