TotalEnergies brings in Petronas as partner ahead of sanctioning oil project off Angola

TotalEnergies EP Angola, a subsidiary of France’s energy giant TotalEnergies, has wrapped up a sale of a partial stake to Petronas Angola E&P (PAEPL), belonging to the Petronas group of companies, in a block, encompassing two oil fields in the Kwanza basin offshore Angola.

According to the French player, the sale of a 40% interest in Block 20 to Petronas has been completed for an amount of $400 million as of January 1, 2023, subject to customary price adjustments. As a result, TotalEnergies retains the operatorship and a 40% interest in Block 20, alongside PAEPL (40%) and Sonangol Pesquisa e Produção (20%). This block contains the Cameia and Golfinho oil discoveries, located around 150 km southwest of Luanda.

Nicolas Terraz, President, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, commented: “TotalEnergies is pleased to welcome Petronas, one of its strategic partners, on Block 20 in the Kwanza basin. With Sonangol and Petronas, we have established a solid partnership that will collectively enable us to take the final investment decision for the development of the Cameia and Golfinho fields, with the support of the Angolan authorities.”

The FID for these fields was previously expected in 2023, however, TotalEnergies did not disclose any new information about the timeline. These fields are planned to be developed through a system of subsea wells connected to an FPSO with an oil production capacity of 70,000 barrels per day. This will be the seventh FPSO developed by TotalEnergies in Angola.

The French giant is adamant that this project will include “the best available technologies” to minimize greenhouse gas emissions while the facilities will be designed for zero flaring, with the associated gas entirely reinjected into the reservoirs. The production from the Cameia and Golfinho development project is expected to start in 2026.

TotalEnergies is working on developing multiple projects around the world. Recently, the firm made progress with its multi-well appraisal and exploration drilling program in Namibia, enabling it to decide on a course of action when it comes to a potential commercial development of the Venus light oil discovery in the Orange Basin.