As anti-renewables sentiment swirls in the United States, French international energy giant TotalEnergies is offloading half of its North American solar portfolio in a transaction with an enterprise value of $1.25 billion. At the same time, the company has signaled its commitment to expanding natural gas production stateside, acquiring a 49% interest in assets owned and operated by Continental Resources in the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma.
The moves are part of a plan to cut annual capital spending by $1 billion and sell more power assets. However, the market still seems concerned with TotalEnergies’ recent rise in debt. Shares fell 2% after CEO Patrick Pouyanne hosted an investor day on Monday, according to Reuters. The company’s capex cut, to $15–17 billion a year for 2027 to 2030, is part of a drive to save $7.5 billion.
Selling Solar
On Monday, TotalEnergies signed an agreement with insurance vehicles and accounts managed by KKR, a leading global investment firm, for the sale of a 50% stake in its 1.4 gigawatt (GW) solar portfolio in North America. TotalEnergies expects to receive a total of $950 million at closing, following refinancing.
The transaction includes six utility-scale solar assets with a combined capacity of 1.3 GW and 41 distributed generation assets totalling 140 megawatts (MW), primarily in the United States. The electricity production of each project has either been sold to third parties or will be commercialized by TotalEnergies. TotalEnergies will keep a 50% stake in the assets and continue to operate them after the closing of the transaction.
“We are pleased to enter into this new strategic partnership with KKR in North America, a key deregulated electricity market, to expand our integrated business model”, said Stéphane Michel, President of Gas, Renewables & Power at TotalEnergies. “Aligned with our strategy, this transaction unlocks value from newly commissioned assets and further strengthens the profitability of our Integrated Power business.”
TotalEnergies has committed more than $23 billion to date in energy transition investments.
“TotalEnergies’ North American solar portfolio is a great fit for us, representing high-quality renewable energy assets with long-term contracts,” observed Cecilio Velasco, managing director at KKR.
Buying Natural Gas
TotalEnergies also announced an agreement Monday with Continental Resources to acquire a 49% interest in natural gas-producing assets owned and operated by Continental Resources in the Anadarko Basin, Oklahoma. This acquisition of low-cost and long-plateau assets, well connected to Henry Hub through existing midstream infrastructure, further strengthens TotalEnergies’ integration across the liquefied natural gas (LNG) value chain in the United States, according to the company.
The assets have the potential to reach a gross production of around 350 MMscfd by 2030 and to sustain this production level over the long term. They will enable TotalEnergies to secure a net gas production of around 150 MMscfd. This acquisition of non-operated shale gas assets complements the Dorado and Constellation acquisitions that TotalEnergies completed in 2024 in the Eagle Ford Basin. TotalEnergies also operates a technical production of around 500 MMscfd in the Barnett.
“This acquisition will further increase our natural gas production in the United States and consolidate TotalEnergies’ integrated LNG position with a competitive low-cost and low-emission gas production”, said Nicolas Terraz, President, exploration & production at TotalEnergies. “We are delighted to partner with Continental Resources, a reference operator in the Anadarko Basin, recognized for its strong technical expertise and operational excellence.”
