French oil giant TotalEnergies has called Namibia its “new golden province,” after announcing a deal with Galp to enter the Mopane field in addition to its operations in the Venus field.
“Entering into that block, of course, is a very clear achievement, confirming Namibia as a new, I would say, golden province for TotalEnergies,” chief financial officer Jean-Pierre Sbraire said in an earnings call last Wednesday.
The Mopane discovery is located in petroleum exploration licence (PEL) 83, off the coast of Lüderitz. TotalEnergies will hold a 40% stake in the licence after the transaction is completed.
The company also holds a 35.25% stake in PEL56, which is home to the Venus discovery.
The largest shareholder in Venus is QatarEnergy (35.25%).
TotalEnergies executive Arnaud le Foll says the company intends to make a final investment decision on the Venus project by mid-2026, and simultaneously work on Mopane as its second project.
“We want to establish a sustainable multi-FPSO hub in Namibia to maximise synergies for the benefits of all the stakeholders,” Le Foll said in the same earnings call.
A floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit is used to process, store, and transfer oil and gas offshore.
TotalEnergies said Venus will be the first FPSO development in Namibia. Simultaneously developing Mopane, which is potentially a larger discovery than the Venus field, would turn the company into the reference offshore operator for Namibia.
Although the scale of the FPSO for Mopane was not publicly announced, industry media outlet Upstream says the project could have an oil output capacity of at least 200 000 barrels per day.
The same article says TotalEnergies could produce 350 000 barrels of oil per day from its two Namibian projects between 2030 and 2032.
Le Foll said a final investment decision for Mopane is likely to come in 2028.
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