7 June 2022
Ref. Ares(2023)813653 - 03/02/2023
Ref. Ares(2023)766948 - 02/02/2023
European Union Energy Platform (RePowerEU)
TotalEnergies proposals for contributions
This note presents some proposals which could be discussed by the EU Energy Platform, its
Advisory Group and by the recently announced Energy Platform Task Force of DG ENER, to
strengthen the global supply of LNG to Europe.
The Commission and Member States have established the EU Energy Platform to coordinate measures to
secure energy supplies for the EU, including through the voluntary common purchase of pipeline gas, LNG
and hydrogen. The new Energy Platform Task Force of DG ENER wil support it and wil help deliver on the
RePowerEU objective of reducing dependence on Russian fossil fuels, by enabling Member States and
neighbouring countries to have access to alternative energy supplies at affordable prices in the coming years.
TotalEnergies wishes to present here some proposals to strengthen the LNG supply towards Europe, which
could be developed and coordinated through those various platforms (hereafter cal ed “the Platform”):
1. The Platform could help coordinate, through bilateral policy discussions, the development of long term
LNG contracts (typical y at least 10 years). This would lead to a benefit on security of supply and on the
reduction of price volatility, thanks to adapted price formulas (with cap and floor, the floor being one of the
possible tools to limit the potential for redirection).
2. The Platform could also, through bilateral policy discussions and in the frame of wider energy cooperation,
work with some LNG producers to abandon redirection clauses on new contracts or, at least, to temporarily
abandon the use of these clauses for the next 2-3 years on existing contracts, to secure more volumes
towards Europe in this critical period.
3. The Platform could encourage certain critical buyers (namely state companies with limited portfolio
capabilities) to subscribe DES contracts, instead of FOB ones. Most of new projects have a requirement of
contracting 75% of total capacity before obtaining financing. Those projects could be privileged target.
4. In the frame of the current transatlantic political discussions, the Platform could also support the need to
speed up the authorization of new needed infrastructure projects. These authorizations could be made
conditional to sufficient aggregated volumes being also coordinated by the Platform, to secure the optimum
uses of these infrastructures on the long term. This would be valid on both sides of the Atlantic.
5. The Platform could push the European regulators and Member States to adopt specific emergency
measures to accelerate the construction of the identified critical regasification terminals and FSRUs, and their
connection to the network. The precedent of the german “LNG acceleration law” could be discussed.
6. The Platform could also work closely with ENTSOG to modify the architecture of the network in order to
improve the fluidity of gas circulation: West/East (France to Germany) and South/North (Spain to France)
bottlenecks are today the cause of various hinderance in the fluidity of the market, causing price differential
between regional markets which could affect the supply. The Commission could then encourage these
"reverse flows" within the framework of the Projects of Common Interest and associated financing schemes.
7. Final y, the strengthening and long-term security of LNG imports to Europe wil rely on a limited number
of integrated actors, being able to continuously adapt the complex logistic chain to optimize costs and
schedule and to manage the commercial exposure. TotalEnergies, being the 2nd private actor on global LNG
market and the 1st exporter of US LNG (10 MT in 2021), is ready to bring its expertise and knowledge to the
Commission, under the Advisory Board of the EU Energy Patform or under any other form.
