TotalEnergies is seeking to grow its share of the EU gas market by appointing a dedicated Stavanger-based frontier exploration manager to evaluate new projects in Norway.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné announced the creation of the position on the opening day of the biennial Offshore Northern Seas (ONS) conference and exhibition in August in Stavanger. The appointee was not named at the time.
“The Norwegian Continental Shelf is a very prolific basin, we see it as having potential for the future,” he told a television interviewer on the sidelines at ONS, according to a Reuters report.
Pouyanné called Norway Europe’s natural energy supplier if the continent is to avoid future energy disruptions like those caused by the current war in the Middle East and Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, which reduced Russian gas imports from 45% of EU demand to 12% over 4 years.
Maximizing Gas Output to Europe
Norway has maximized its pipeline gas export capacity, replacing Russia as the largest supplier to the EU and Britain. It now provides over 54% of their pipeline gas imports, according to Eurostat and International Energy Agency (IEA) data.
In parallel, Europe has built out its liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure to accommodate imports of which 58% came from the US in 2025. Europe’s US LNG imports tripled between 2021 and 2025, according to the Council of the EU and the European Council.
An Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis forecast in May predicted that US LNG imports will satisfy two-thirds of European demand in 2026.
"We spend $1 billion per year in exploration around the world, and (Norway is) one of the seven countries where we have decided to make a special effort ... If the geology is good, we'll allocate the capital," Pouyanné said in his interview at ONS.
According to TotalEnergies’ 2025 Strategy & Outlook Report, the company’s portfolio of major growth and exploration opportunities includes projects in Angola (Kaminho), Namibia (Venus), Suriname (GranMorgu), Brazil (Mero 3 and Mero 4), and the US Gulf of Mexico (Anchor and Ballymore). The company is also pursuing exploration and appraisal opportunities in Namibia, including Venus, Mopane, and PEL 104, as well as opportunities in Nigeria
Already Norway’s fourth-largest producer, excluding state-owned Petoro, TotalEnergies currently produces 220,000 BOED in Norway, representing 10% of the French major’s global production, the CEO told Norwegian television.
TotalEnergies controls the largest regasification capacity portfolio in Europe for importing LNG and is one of the largest purchasers of US LNG, marketing 19 Mt in 2025, which represents 18% of US LNG production, the company reported in April.
"Because I believe politically it will be difficult to see Russian gas coming back to Europe, it's a natural new market that we want to develop... either with Norwegian gas or LNG," Pouyanné said.
TotalEnergies holds nonoperated interests in several major Norwegian assets, including:
- An 8.44% stake in Johan Sverdrup, which produces approximately a third of Norway’s oil.
- 3.69% in Troll, the country’s largest gas-producing field, and minority interests in nearby Oseberg.
- An 18.4% stake in Snøhvit in the Barents Sea, giving the company an equivalent share of production processed and exported as LNG from the Melkøya terminal near Hammerfest for delivery to Europe and via the Northern Sea Route to Asia.
- Interests across the Greater Ekofisk Area, including Ekofisk, Eldfisk, and Embla, as well as additional further stakes in Tyrihans and Åsgard.