LAGOS, Nov 2 – French oil major TotalEnergies has signed an agreement to sell a 40% participating interest in Nigeria’s offshore oil block OPL257 to South Atlantic Petroleum Limited (SAPETRO), strengthening their partnership in the development of the Egina South field.
Under the farm-out agreement, TotalEnergies will retain a 50% operated interest in the block upon completion of the transaction. SAPETRO will hold a 40% participating interest, while Conoil will retain the remaining 10%, the company said in a statement on Friday.
Located approximately 150 kilometres offshore Nigeria, OPL257 is adjacent to PPL261, where TotalEnergies holds a 24% interest alongside its partners, including SAPETRO. The partners discovered the Egina South field in 2005, which extends across both blocks.
An appraisal campaign on the OPL257 portion of the field is expected to begin in the coming months. The work will assess the resource potential and support plans for a possible development connecting Egina South to the existing Egina floating production, storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel, located approximately 30 kilometres away.
Mike Sangster, Senior Vice President for Africa Exploration and Production at TotalEnergies, said the agreement would consolidate the company’s partnership with SAPETRO and support progress towards appraisal and potential development.
“TotalEnergies is pleased to have SAPETRO as a partner in OPL257 as well as in the adjacent PPL261 block. Consolidating our long-term partnership paves the way for a quick appraisal campaign and subsequent development of Egina South in the success case,” Sangster said.
He added that the transaction aligns with TotalEnergies’ strategy of developing lower-cost, lower-emission resources while making use of existing infrastructure.
The proposed transfer remains subject to customary completion conditions, including regulatory approvals.
