TotalEnergies SE has received two exploration permits offshore Nigeria and one offshore Republic of the Congo, growing its footprint in the two countries.
The Nzombo exploration license sits 100 kilometers (62.14 miles) off the coast of Pointe-Noire, near the Moho production facilities operated by TotalEnergies EP Congo. The block spans 1,000 square kilometers (386.1 square miles), according to the French energy giant.
“The work program includes the drilling of one exploration well, which is expected to spud before the end of 2025”, TotalEnergies said in a statement on its website.
“This award of a promising exploration permit, with the material Nzombo prospect, reflects our continued strategy of expanding our exploration portfolio with high-impact prospects, which can be developed leveraging our existing facilities, and confirms our longstanding partnership with the Republic of the Congo”, said Kevin McLachlan, senior vice president for exploration at TotalEnergies.
In the new block TotalEnergies is operator with a 50 percent stake. QatarEnergy and national oil company SNPC own 35 percent and 15 percent respectively.
Meanwhile for the new Nigerian awards, TotalEnergies and local player South Atlantic Petroleum Ltd. (SAPETRO) signed a production sharing contract (PSC) containing PPLs 2000 and 2001, TotalEnergies said Tuesday. The West African country awarded the permits under its 2024 exploration bidding. TotalEnergies is operator with an 80 percent stake while SAPETRO owns 20 percent.
Located in the “prolific” West Delta basin, the two permits cover about 2,000 square kilometers (772.2 square miles), TotalEnergies said.
“The work program includes drilling one firm exploration well”, it said.
“TotalEnergies is honored to be the first international company to be awarded exploration licenses in a bid round in Nigeria in more than a decade, marking a new milestone in our long-term partnership with the country”, said McLachlan.
“These promising block captures are fully aligned with our strategy of strengthening our exploration portfolio with drill-ready and high-impact prospects, that have the potential for low-cost and low-emissions developments from new discoveries in our core areas of expertise”.
Nigeria contributed 209,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (boed) to the 2024 production of TotalEnergies, which also operates 540 distribution stations in the country, according to the company.
As part of efforts to refocus its Nigerian investment on operated assets, TotalEnergies earlier this year signed a deal to sell its 12.5 percent stake in Nigeria’s OML118 PSC, which contains the producing Bonga field, to Shell PLC for $510 million. Operator Shell will increase its stake to 67.5 percent.
TotalEnergies derived 11,000 boed from its share of production in the block, mainly oil, in 2024, according to the company.
Located in deep waters 120 kilometers (74.56 miles) south of the Niger Delta, OML118 contains the Bonga field, which started production 2005 and has a capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil per day, and the Bonga North field, which the developers approved 2024. The partners expect to put Bonga North into production by 2030 with a peak rate of 110,000 barrels of oil per day.
Last year TotalEnergies penned an agreement to divest its 10 percent interest in the SPDC Joint Venture in Nigeria to Chappal Energies Mauritius Ltd. for $860 million.
The SPDC JV holds 15 onshore oil mining leases (OMLs) and three shallow-water OMLs.
The SPDC JV, which Shell exited in the first quarter when it sold its operatorship to Renaissance Africa, holds 15 onshore oil mining leases (OMLs) and three shallow-water OMLs.
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