In a statement issued by Total, the company stated it could capture value from its assets in India by agreeing to a LNG divestment and product sales agreement with Shell. The two entities signed a binding letter of intent which will oversee the sale of the French company’s stake in the Hazira regasification terminal in India to Shell.

However, it has also been disclosed that the French company which is one of the 7 ‘supermajor’ oil companies in the world has signed a five-year deal with Shell to sell it half a million tons of LNG per-year from its global portfolio. The contract will come into effect from 2019.

The company’s President of Gas, Renewables and Power Operations, Philippe Sauquet expressed his satisfaction in relation to the binary agreements with Shell. In a statement, he said, “This deal enables Total to capture value through an asset disposal, while the LNG sales contract allows us to maintain the balance of our LNG portfolio.”

Year-over-year, Indian imports of petroleum, crude oil and petroleum products increased more than 40 percent.

For Total, the agreement with Shell represents another building block on its already extensive portfolio for sales of LNG, which has more maneuverability than piped gas.

In July, the company paid $1.5 billion to acquire the exploration and production segment of the LNG portfolio held by French company Engie. Of note in the purchase was Engie's minority stake in the Cameron LNG facility in the United States, an emerging LNG exporter thanks to its rich shale natural gas reserves.

The Engie acquisition included a fleet of 18 LNG tankers and access to European regasification infrastructure, which made the deal a game changer for Total.

Total was among the first of the supermajors to release results from the second quarter. Compared with the same period last year, the company's $3.6 billion in adjusted net income was up 44 percent.