TotalEnergies set to double its stake in Malaysian gas assets, CEO says

French energy giant TotalEnergies has acquired further stakes in Malaysian gas assets from the country's national producer Petronas, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said on Monday.

The French energy company has been expanding its presence in gas in Asia, where it sees greater potential for sales growth as the European Union seeks to shift energy consumption towards renewables by the middle of the century.

Pouyanne said at the Energy Asia conference in Kuala Lumpur the company was announcing a deal to double its gas stake in Malaysia, "because it's just perfectly located to produce energy and to serve the market."

Total will hold new interests in multiple offshore blocks, including a 50 per cent operated stake in blocks SK301b and SK313, where gas discoveries exceeding four trillion cubic feet were made. That gas will be developed to supply Malaysia LNG from 2030, according to a company statement.

Petronas and TotalEnergies also signed a strategic cooperation agreement to partner in exploration and production globally. As part of that, Petronas has ceded to Total a 24.5 per cent interest in its Bobara block offshore Indonesia, which the pair will explore for oil.

"Together we will pursue and develop advantaged barrels across Malaysia's and Indonesia's frontier emerging exploration blocks," Petronas CEO Tan Sri Tengku Taufik said.

Last year, TotalEnergies acquired 100 per cent of SapuraOMV Upstream, an independent gas producer in Malaysia whose main assets are operating interests in offshore blocks SK408 (40 per cent) and SK310 (30 per cent).

The French company also signed liquefied natural gas contracts worth about 6 million tonnes in 2024, mostly to Asian clients, which Pouyanne on Monday said formed "the core" of Total's LNG business as sales to Europe diminish over time.

Total will also deploy 30 per cent of its capital expenditure to build an integrated power business, Pouyanne added, with the goal of raising the share of electricity in its portfolio to 20 per cent by 2030.

(Reporting by Sudarshan Varadhan; Writing by David Stanway; Editing by Martin Petty and Louise Heavens)