
Commencement of FEED for the Live Oak Project for e-NG Production in Nebraska
August 28, 2026
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Houston, August 28, 2026 – The Live Oak consortium today announced the launch of Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) activities for the Live Oak project, a large-scale electric natural gas (e-NG, also known as e-methane) production facility currently under development in Nebraska, United States. The consortium comprises TotalEnergies and TES (each holding a 33.35% stake in Live Oak), alongside Osaka Gas, Toho Gas and ITOCHU (33.3% combined).
The FEED will be conducted by U.S.-based KBR and Spain’s Técnicas Reunidas, two leading engineering contractors specializing in energy infrastructure, natural gas, and large-scale industrial projects. Both companies were selected by the consortium through a competitive process and will carry out parallel FEED studies, after which one of the two FEED concepts will be selected for execution.
The project will continue to advance with the aim of completing FEED and starting execution in 2027, with potential beginning of commercial operations by 2030.
Located in Norfolk, Nebraska, the project is expected to produce e-NG, a synthetic gas made by combining renewable hydrogen produced through electrolysis with CO₂ captured from bioethanol plants through methanation. Once operational, Live Oak aims to supply low-carbon gas to customers in Japan, leveraging existing U.S. natural gas and LNG infrastructure for exports. Osaka Gas and Toho Gas will serve as the project’s primary offtakers. This project will help these Japanese gas utilities achieve their goal of injecting 1% carbon-neutral gas, including e-NG, into the gas grid by 2030.
Chemically identical to conventional natural gas, e-NG can be seamlessly integrated into existing LNG infrastructure – including liquefaction, transportation, regasification, and distribution – and used without any modifications to end-user equipment.
Clare Harris, Chief Executive Officer of TES stated: “Moving Live Oak into FEED is a significant milestone towards delivering e-NG at scale. Together with our partners, we are advancing a project that can support Japan’s decarbonisation goals and demonstrate the role of e-NG in connecting renewable energy to global markets.”