Namibia has approved TotalEnergies’ offshore asset swap with Galp Energia, handing the French major operatorship of both the Venus and Mopane discoveries and positioning the country to emerge as a significant oil producer before the end of the decade.

TotalEnergies chief executive Patrick Pouyanné confirmed Namibia’s Ministry of Industries, Mines and Energy approved the transaction, with final administrative steps expected to close within days. The deal restructures ownership across licences PEL 83, PEL 56 and PEL 91 in the offshore Orange Basin: TotalEnergies takes over Galp’s 40% operated interest in PEL 83, home to the Mopane discovery, while Galp receives a 10% stake in PEL 56 and a 9.39% stake in PEL 91, both tied to Venus. TotalEnergies will also fund half of Galp’s exploration, appraisal and early development costs on PEL 83, to be repaid from Galp’s future project cash flows.

Pouyanné said talks on a Venus final investment decision are nearing completion, targeted for the end of July or shortly after, and that aligning both projects under one development strategy would create operational synergies across the basin. Once the swap closes, TotalEnergies plans to accelerate appraisal drilling at Mopane ahead of a separate investment decision expected around 2028.

Source: namibiaoilandgas.com