French energy major TotalEnergies has announced plans to drill an appraisal well at the 20‑year‑old Egina South field in 2026, as part of efforts to develop the asset as a tie‑back to its giant operational Egina FPSO facility.
The company disclosed this on Wednesday in a press statement seen by Bavijas, in which it also revealed an agreement with its local partner Conoil to swap interests across two offshore licenses in Nigeria.
According to the statement, TotalEnergies will acquire Conoil’s 50% operated interest in block OPL 257 – an offshore acreage spanning about 370 sq km – while Conoil will in turn acquire TotalEnergies’ 40% participating interest in block OML 136. This makes the Nigerian company the sole risk-taker in the asset.
Findings by Bavijas show OML 136 is a gas‑rich acreage offshore western Nigeria operated by Conoil (60%) and TotalEnergies (40%). A well drilled by the partners 15 years ago revealed several gas‑bearing reservoirs that could yield production of up to 21 mmcf/d.
Notwithstanding, Mike Sangster, Senior VP Africa (Exploration & Production) at TotalEnergies, said the swap agreement is part of the company’s strategy to leverage existing production facilities to profitably develop additional resources in the country.
The agreement would raise TotalEnergies’ interest in OPL 257 to 90%, up from 40%, while Conoil will retain the remaining 10%. OPL 257 extends to PPL 261, where TotalEnergies (24%) and its joint venture partners discovered the Egina South field in 2005. The planned appraisal well is targeted at the OPL 257 side of the discovery.
“This transaction, built on our longstanding partnership with Conoil, will enable TotalEnergies to proceed with the appraisal of the Egina South discovery, an attractive tie‑back opportunity for Egina FPSO,” Sangster said.
Completion of the transaction is subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approval from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Although it sold its remaining 12.5% non‑operated interest in Nigeria’s Bonga field (OML 118) to Shell and Agip for $510m in September, TotalEnergies has signalled strong interest in the upcoming 2025 oil licensing round scheduled to begin December 1.