TotalEnergies SE disclosed the final investment decision (FID) for an LNG expansion project in Papua New Guinea would be pushed back by at least one year as the project partners hunt for more “commercially viable” contractors.

The French major’s CEO Patrick Pouyanné met with Papua New Guinea Prime Minister James Marape to discuss the status of the 5.4 million metric ton/year (mmty) project after receiving engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) offers.

The project partnership is now looking to move FID to sometime in 2025, as the initial EPC offers show the liquefied natural gas expansion project “requires more work” to secure competitive contracts, TotalEnergies reported.

[Market Moves: What is affecting the natural gas market today? From the LNG pause to...