Live Oak e-NG

The Live Oak consortium announced on August 27, 2026 the commencement of Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) for the Live Oak electric natural gas (e-NG / e-methane) production facility in Norfolk, Nebraska, U.S., a project first launched by TotalEnergies and TES in 2023 to pioneer at-scale e-NG production and now developed by a five-party consortium comprising TotalEnergies (33.35%), TES (33.35%), and Osaka Gas, Toho Gas, and ITOCHU (33.3% combined). The facility is designed around approximately 250 MW of electrolysis and 75 ktpa of methanation capacity, combining renewable hydrogen produced via on-site electrolysis with biogenic CO₂ captured from Nebraska bioethanol plants to produce e-NG that is chemically identical to conventional natural gas and can be integrated into existing LNG liquefaction, transport, regasification, and distribution infrastructure without end-user equipment modifications. U.S.-based KBR and Spain's Técnicas Reunidas were selected through a competitive process to conduct parallel FEED studies, with one of the two concepts to be selected for execution; FEED completion and execution start are targeted for 2027 with potential commercial operations by 2030. Osaka Gas and Toho Gas will serve as the project's primary offtakers, using Live Oak volumes to help meet the Japanese gas utilities' target of injecting 1% carbon-neutral gas (including e-NG) into the Japanese gas grid by 2030, with export leveraging existing U.S. natural gas and LNG infrastructure.