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NorthAmOil: TotalEnergies unveils plan to spin off oil sands operations

France’s TotalEnergies has unveiled plans to spin off its oil sands operations in Canada into a new company, as those assets do not align with its energy transition goals.
The spin-off would include TotalEnergies' 24.58% stake in Suncor Energy's Fort Hills oil sands mining project in northern Alberta, its 50% stake in ConocoPhillips’ Surmont thermal project and midstream and trading-related activities. They are anticipated to generate $1.5bn worth of cash flow in 2022. TotalEnergies’ CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, told investors at a presentation in New York that the company had decided on a spin-off because that option would not depend on finding a buyer for the assets.
"We are not the best shareholder of these assets because as we have a climate strategy, we don't want to invest in these assets," he said. 
The company said the proposal would be put to a shareholder vote at its next annual general meeting (AGM) in May 2023. The spin-off would be listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX). TotalEnergies intends to maintain a minority stake in the spin-off on a temporary basis in order to smooth the transition.
The move represents the latest step in TotalEnergies’ gradual pullback from the oil sands. The company took a $9.3bn impairment charge on the value of its oil sands assets in 2020, and while oil prices have since rebounded, TotalEnergies is increasingly focusing on gas and LNG instead as it pursues its long-term decarbonisation targets.