Total has signed an agreement with French utility ENGIE to buy its liquefied natural gas (LNG) assets for $1.49 billion (£1.13bn).

The deal includes interests in liquefaction plants, including the Cameron LNG project in the US, long term LNG sales and purchase agreements, a fleet of 10 LNG tankers as well as access to regasification capacities in Europe.

Total could pay an additional $550 million (£419m) if there are improvements in the oil markets in the coming years.

The company says it will manage an overall volume of around 40 million tonnes of LNG per year by 2020, making it the second largest global player among the majors, with a worldwide market share of 10%.

Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné adds: “The acquisition of ENGIE’s upstream LNG business enables Total to accelerate the implementation of its strategy to integrate along the full gas value chain, in an LNG market growing strongly at 5% to 6% per year.”

The deal is subject to regulatory approvals.