TotalEnergies SE (TTE) Signs a Joint Development Agreement With Japanese Companies

​TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is one of the Cheap NYSE Stocks to Buy Now. On December 2, TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) announced signing a joint development and operating agreement with TES, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas, and ITOCHU. The agreement grants these Japanese companies a 33.3% stake in the Live Oak project.

​The Live Oak project, which is currently under development in Nebraska, United States, is a large-scale facility to produce e-methane. The project was started by TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) and TES. As a result of this agreement, TotalEnergies and TES will both have a 33.3% share in the project. Live Oak is currently in the Front-End Engineering Design phase and targets production capacity of around 250 MW of electrolysis and 75 ktpa of methanation. Management noted that the project is expected to begin commercial operation in 2030, subject to a final investment decision to be made in 2027. Moreover, once the production starts, the project will export e-NG to Japan. Osaka Gas and Toho Gas.

​In addition, Wall Street maintains a cautious outlook on TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE), with analysts’ 12-month average price target of $70 reflecting 7.9% upside from the current level. Recently, on December 5, J.P. Morgan downgraded the stock from Buy to Hold and also lowered the price target from EUR58.5 to EUR55.0.

​The firm noted that while they maintain a cautious outlook on the overall oil sector, they still prefer Shell over TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE). Both companies have similar expected free cash flow returns estimates of around 8% for 2026-27; however, J.P. Morgan sees a better risk/reward situation for Shell, given the current market share.

​TotalEnergies SE (NYSE:TTE) is a global multi-energy company t​hat produces and markets oil, biofuels, natural‍ gas, renewables, and electricity.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.