US gov’t, TotalEnergies strike $1 billion deal; Company to invest reimbursed offshore wind fees in its oil & gas projects
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) and TotalEnergies have signed settlement agreements to terminate the company’s two offshore wind leases in the United States, confirming recent reports that a deal was being drafted under which TotalEnergies would be reimbursed $928 million (around €806 million) paid in lease fees.
Under the deal, TotalEnergies, along with its partners, will relinquish the offshore wind lease areas in Carolina Long Bay and New York Bight, and recover the lease fees from the U.S. government. The company will then invest an equal amount in the construction of the 29 Mt Rio Grande LNG plant and the development of its oil and gas activities in the U.S., according to TotalEnergies’ press release from March 23.
According to a press release from the DOI, TotalEnergies has also “pledged not to develop any new offshore wind projects in the United States”.
The company secured both lease areas in 2022, first the Attentive Energy lease area in New York Bight (OCS-A 0538) and then Carolina Long Bay (OCS-A 0545). The information from the time the lease sales closed stated that
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