France’s TotalEnergies and Japanese corporation INPEX have signed a strategic agreement with Thai energy company PTTEP to collectively acquire the full 100% stake in PTTEP’s AC-RL7 permit in Australia, according to Reuters.

The AC-RL7 permit area, spanning 418 km2 in the Timor Sea, is situated around 250 km northeast of the Ichthys offshore facilities. The permit’s assets include the Cash and Maple gas and condensate fields, both of which were discovered in 2002 and 1989 respectively, and subsequently evaluated through various well appraisals.

The development of these fields would contribute to the long-term supply of the Ichthys LNG natural gas liquefaction plant, in which TotalEnergies is a 26% partner while INPEX and other Asian minority shareholders hold the remaining 74%.

TotalEnergies is the world’s third-largest LNG player with a market share of around 12% and a global portfolio of about 50 Mt/y. The Company benefits from an integrated position across the LNG value chain, including production, transportation, access to more than 20 Mt/y of regasification capacity in Europe, trading, and LNG bunkering.

TotalEnergies’ ambition is to increase the share of natural gas in its sales mix to close to 50% by 2030, to reduce carbon emissions and eliminate methane emissions associated with the gas value chain, and to work with local partners to promote the transition from coal to natural gas.