EIG buys Tokyo Gas' interest in four Aussie LNG projects for $2.15bn

MidOcean Energy, an LNG company formed by US-based investor EIG, has entered into an agreement to acquire Tokyo Gas’ interests in a portfolio of four Australian integrated LNG projects for $2.15bn, EIG said on October 7.

Under the terms of the agreement, MidOcean will acquire Tokyo Gas’ interests in Gorgon LNG, Ichthys LNG, Pluto LNG and Queensland Curtis LNG. These integrated projects span Australia’s western and eastern coasts and supply LNG to Asia and to Australia’s domestic gas markets. The deal does not include the Darwin LNG, in which Tokyo Gas owns a stake.

“We believe this transaction provides MidOcean with a foundational portfolio of cost-advantaged integrated LNG assets in a low-risk jurisdiction, ideally positioned to supply key customers in Japan, Asia and across the globe for decades to come,” EIG CEO R. Blair Thomas said.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2023. The portfolio is expected to generate approximately 1mn mt/year of LNG net to MidOcean. In June this year, EIG named Shell’s De la Rey Venter as CEO of MidOcean.

Tokyo Gas in a separate statement said that the transaction is in-line with its vision, where Tokyo Gas continues to demonstrate leadership in the transition to net-zero emissions.

"Under the Compass Action plan, which is a concrete path for realising the Group's management vision, Compass 2030, our company will review its asset portfolio in order to allocate resources to growth areas. This transfer is based on this strategy," the Japanese company said. 

The deal will not have any impact on its LNG procurement, Tokyo Gas said.