France’s energy giant TotalEnergies has bolstered its oil and gas portfolio in African waters by striking an asset exchange deal with Conoil, which enables it to up its stake in an offshore license in Nigerian waters.
Under the agreements, which TotalEnergies signed with Conoil, the French player will get a 50% operated interest in block OPL257, while the latter will acquire a 40% participating interest held by the former in block OML136, both of which are located off the coast of Nigeria. The completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals.
Once the asset swap is out of the way, TotalEnergies’ interest in OPL257 will increase from 40% to 90%, while Conoil will retain a 10% stake in this block. Encompassing an area of around 370 square kilometers, this license is situated 150 kilometers offshore Nigeria.
The block is adjacent to PPL 261, where TotalEnergies (24%) and its partners discovered the Egina South field in 2005, which extends into OPL257. An appraisal well of this asset is planned to be drilled in 2026 on the OPL257 side, and the field is expected to be developed as a tie-back to the FPSO Egina , lying approximately 30 kilometers away.
Mike Sangster , Senior Vice-President Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, commented: “This transaction, built on our longstanding partnership with Conoil, will enable TotalEnergies to proceed with the appraisal of the Egina South discovery, an attractive tie-back opportunity for Egina FPSO.
“This fits perfectly with our strategy to leverage existing production facilities to profitably develop additional resources and to focus on our operated gas and offshore oil assets in Nigeria.”
After TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy, and Société Nationale des Pétroles du Congo (SNPC) obtained an exploration permit offshore Congo, the French player inked a production sharing contract (PSC) for the PPL 2000 and PPL 2001 exploration licenses in Nigeria together with its partner, South Atlantic Petroleum (20%).