TotalEnergies to acquire US CCS developer
French major TotalEnergies said March 18 it had reached an agreement to acquire 100% of Talos Low Carbon Solutions, a US company involved in three Gulf Coast carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects.
In a separate release, Talos Energy, which owns Talos Low Carbon Solutions, said TotalEnergies had agreed to pay $125mn for its subsidiary. With customary reimbursements, adjustments and retention of cash, the total purchase consideration is expected to reach about $145mn.
After completion of the transaction, expected by the end of business on March 18, TotalEnergies will own a 25% share in the Bayou Bend project on the Texas Gulf Coast, alongside operator Chevron and its 50% operating interest and Equinor, a 65% operating interest in the Harvest Bend project in Louisiana and a 50% interest in the Coastal Bend project in Texas.
TotalEnergies said its intention is to divest its interests in Harvest Bend and Coastal Bend, since they are located farthest away from its other Gulf Coast assets.
Bayou Bend is a carbon transportation and storage solution for industrial emitters along the Houston Ship Channel and the Beaumont-Port Arthur region, where most of TotalEnergies’ existing US assets are located. With licences dedicated to CO2storage across 600 km2 in the Gulf Coast onshore and offshore region, Bayou Bend has the potential to sequester several hundred million tonnes of CO2, TotalEnergies said.
“Ideally located close to our Port Arthur refinery and our petrochemicals assets in La Porte, this project will be instrumental for the reduction of direct emissions from our US operations,” TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said. “This transaction gives momentum to the decarbonisation of hard-to-abate US emissions and marks a milestone on our journey to get to Net Zero by 2050.”