France’s TotalEnergies and Japan-based Inpex have agreed to acquire the 100% interest in the AC-RL7 permit offshore Australia from Thailand’s petroleum exploration and production company PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Limited (PTTEP) subsidiary, PTTEP Australasia (Ashmore Cartier) .

Under the deal terms, TotalEnergies subsidiary TotalEnergies Exploration Australia will acquire a 26% stake in the 418km² permit in line with its stake in in Ichthys LNG project.

The Ichthys LNG project is a joint venture between CPC, Inpex, JERA, Kansai Electric Power, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and TotalEnergies.

It comprises the Ichthys gas and condensate field offshore Northwest Australia, a gas transmission pipeline and an onshore LNG plant near Darwin in the Northern Territory.

Inpex, through its newly established group company INPEX Cash Maple, will own the remaining 74% in the AC-RL7 permit and will serve as operator.

The transaction is subject to approval from the relevant authorities. Financial terms of the deal were undisclosed.

Located in the Timor Sea, approximately 250km northeast of the Ichthys offshore facilities, the permit includes the Cash and Maple gas and condensate fields.

TotalEnergies expects the development of the Cash and Maple fields to contribute to the long-term supply of the Ichthys LNG natural gas liquefaction plant.

TotalEnergies Asia-Pacific exploration and production senior vice president Julien Pouget said: “Thanks to this joint acquisition together with our partner Inpex, we are pleased to secure additional resources for the future supply of the Ichthys LNG plant. These resources will help us to meet the long-term demand of our customers in the Asia-Pacific region for LNG.

“This acquisition is also supported by the efforts undertaken with Inpex in the Bonaparte CCS Assessment joint venture to appraise the area’s potential for geological storage of CO₂, in order to abate CO_₂ emissions from the Ichthys LNG project.”