TotalEnergies has been awarded a massive new exploration permit offshore the Republic of Congo, which could ultimately boost oil and gas supply from West Africa.
TotalEnergies and its minority partners QatarEnergy and Congo’s national company SNPC have been awarded the Nzombo exploration permit, close to the Moho production facilities operated by TotalEnergies, the French supermajor said on Monday.
TotalEnergies holds 50% and is the operator of the 1,000 square kilometer (386 square miles) Nzombo exploration permit. QatarEnergy has a 35% stake and SNPC holds the remaining 15%.
Nzombo is located about 100 kilometers (62 miles) off the coast of Pointe-Noire, close to the Moho production facilities. Via two Floating Production Units (FPU), Alima and Likouf, production at Moho is around 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d).
The work program for the Nzombo exploration permit includes the drilling of one exploration well, which is expected to spud before the end of 2025, TotalEnergies said today.
“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 Exploration at TotalEnergies.
The French supermajor has been active in exploration efforts globally and in West and southwest Africa.
TotalEnergies “reloaded the exploration portfolio by acquiring exploration permits in the U.S. Gulf, in Malaysia, in Indonesia and Algeria” in the second quarter, CEO Patrick Pouyanné said on the Q2 earnings call in July.
TotalEnergies has recently made a large discovery in the Orange Basin offshore Namibia.
Earlier this year, a senior official said that Namibia expects TotalEnergies and Norway’s BW Energy to take final investment decisions on oil projects in late 2026.
TotalEnergies is expected to submit this summer a field development plan for the Venus project, said Maggy Shino, Petroleum Commissioner at the Namibian Ministry of Mines and Energy.
The Orange Basin extends to South African waters to the south and the majors are now looking to tap into these areas hoping to find huge resources similar to the ones in Namibian waters. However, a court in South Africa has reportedly halted a TotalEnergies-led exploration project, saying the environmental assessment for the project was “deeply flawed, failing to address key risks, legal requirements, and public participation.”
By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com
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