Under the terms of the settlement, TotalEnergies will recover the lease fees paid and will invest an equal amount in the development of U.S. Gas & Power production and exports.
TotalEnergies’ studies on these leases have shown that offshore wind developments in the United States, unlike those in Europe, are costly and might have a negative impact on power affordability for U.S. consumers. Since other technologies are available to meet the growing demand for electricity in the United States in a more affordable way, TotalEnergies considers there is no need to allocate capital to this technology in the U.S.
«TotalEnergies is pleased to sign these settlement agreements with the DOI and to support the Administration’s Energy Policy. Considering that the development of offshore wind projects is not in the country’s interest, we have decided to renounce offshore wind development in the United States, in exchange for the reimbursement of the lease fees. Furthermore, these agreements, under which we will reinvest the refunded lease fees to finance the construction of the 29 Mt Rio Grande LNG plant and the development of our oil and gas activities, allows us to support the development of U.S. gas production and export. These investments will contribute to supplying Europe with much-needed LNG from the U.S. and provide gas for U.S. data center development. We believe this is a more efficient use of capital in the United States,» said Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer of TotalEnergies
TotalEnergies has also signed recently a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Glenfarne, lead developer of the Alaska LNG project, for the long-term offtake of 2 million tons per year (Mtpa) of liquefied natural gas (LNG) over 20 years, subject to the project’s final investment decision.
About TotalEnergies in the United States
TotalEnergies is deploying its integrated energy model across the United States, where it has been active since 1957. Since 2022, TotalEnergies has invested nearly $12 billion in the U.S. to accelerate development in oil, LNG, and electricity. TotalEnergies is integrated throughout the LNG value chain, with upstream gas production assets in Texas and offshore U.S. With 19 million tons exported in 2025, TotalEnergies is the number 1 exporter of U.S. LNG. The U.S. is also a key country for the deployment of TotalEnergies’ Integrated Power strategy with 10 GW of installed power capacity.
