TotalEnergies Sees Higher Oil, Gas Prices in 2022 -- Energy Comment

By Mary de Wet

TotalEnergies SE said it expects the recent rally in oil and gas markets to continue in 2022.

On oil:

At the beginning of 2022, oil prices rose above $90 a barrel for the first time since 2014, the French oil, gas and renewable energy company said.

"This increase in price is driven by the global demand recovery and OPEC+ discipline in a context of constrained supply, given the low level of investment in hydrocarbons since 2015. It is exacerbated in the short term by low oil inventories," TotalEnergies said.

"Prices could therefore remain at high levels, depending on the mobilization of OPEC+ production and the growth of unconventional oil production in the United States."

On natural gas:

"After reaching all-time highs in the fourth quarter 2021, gas prices have remained very high in Europe and Asia since the beginning of 2022, driven by geopolitical uncertainties in Europe despite a mild winter season. In this context, futures markets anticipate gas prices that may remain above $20/Mbtu in 2022," the company said.

"Continuing the momentum that has been underway for several years, TotalEnergies is implementing its strategy of integrated growth in LNG, which will generate structural cash flow growth of $1 billion in 2022. In addition, given the evolution of oil and gas prices in recent months and the lag effect on price formulas, TotalEnergies anticipates that its average LNG selling price should remain at a high level of at least $12/Mbtu in the first half of 2022."

On electricity and renewable energy:

TotalEnergies plans to have more than 16 gigawatts of renewable gross capacity in operation by year-end 2022. Electricity generation is expected to increase by more than 25% in 2022, the company said.

Write to Mary de Wet at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 10, 2022 08:20 ET (13:20 GMT)

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