TES, TotalEnergies, Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and ITOCHU have signed a Joint Development and Operating Agreement for the Live Oak Project — a large-scale facility to produce electric natural gas (e-NG), also known as e-methane, in Nebraska, USA.
The Japanese companies will hold a 33.3% combined stake, with TES and TotalEnergies each retaining 33.35%. The partnership now enters the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) phase, targeting approximately 250 MW of electrolysis and 75,000 tonnes per year of methanation capacity. Subject to a Final Investment Decision in 2027, commercial operations are planned for 2030, with e-NG exports to Japan expected to follow.
Osaka Gas and Toho Gas will act as primary offtakers, contributing to Japan’s target of introducing 1% carbon-neutral gas into its grid by 2030. ITOCHU will coordinate the participation of Japanese companies.
Producing e-methane from renewable hydrogen and captured CO₂
The Live Oak Project will utilise renewable hydrogen and biogenic CO₂ captured from bioethanol plants in Nebraska. The resulting e-NG is chemically identical to natural gas and can be used in existing LNG infrastructure — liquefaction, shipping, regasification and distribution — without any technical modifications.
The project builds on the 2023 partnership between TES and TotalEnergies to develop industrial-scale e-NG production, combining renewable energy generation with carbon capture and reuse. It is positioned as one of the leading projects worldwide for carbon-neutral gas production.
Accelerating decarbonisation through global collaboration
“The participation of Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and ITOCHU underscores Japan’s strong commitment to decarbonisation through e-NG,” the partners said in a joint statement. “Live Oak will leverage Nebraska’s renewable resources and industrial know-how to deliver carbon-neutral gas to international markets.”
The project reflects growing momentum for synthetic methane as a scalable solution for sectors requiring high-energy density fuels and for decarbonising existing gas networks without major infrastructure changes.
