TotalEnergies SE is acquiring an additional 10.5 percent participating interest in Namibia’s block 2913B, which contains the Venus discovery, and an additional 9.39 percent participating interest in block 2912 from Impact Oil and Gas Namibia (Pty) Ltd.
After completion of the transactions, TotalEnergies would own a 45.25 percent interest in block 2913B and a 42.5 percent interest in block 2912, with Impact retaining a 9.5 percent interest in each license. TotalEnergies is the operator of both blocks, which are offshore Namibia.
The transactions are subject to customary third-party approvals from the Namibian authorities and joint venture parties, TotalEnergies said in a news release Wednesday. The financial details of the transactions were not disclosed. The company added that it planned to share the additional interest with joint venture partner QatarEnergy.
Under the agreement, Impact will be reimbursed for the past costs incurred for the interests through a $99 million payment at closing. Impact will also be carried for its remaining interests until it receives the first sales proceeds from hydrocarbon production, secured via a repayment mechanism based on Impact’s share of production, according to the release.
“This transaction not only increases our share in the Venus discovery and remaining prospectivity on these blocks, but also represents a key step toward the development of Venus by consolidating the partnership and securing financing of all partners which will add value to all stakeholders”, TotalEnergies Chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said.
“This is a pivotal transaction for Impact that paves the way for its transition from an exploration company to a hydrocarbon producing company, through its participation in the development of the world class Venus discovery”, Impact CEO Siraj Ahmed said in a separate statement. “This transaction also enables Impact to participate in further significant exploration opportunities in the Blocks, offering the potential to significantly grow the existing discovered resource base. We are delighted to be able to continue in this exciting journey with TotalEnergies”.
In February 2022, TotalEnergies made a significant discovery of light oil with associated gas on the Venus prospect, located in block 2913B in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia. The Venus 1-X well encountered approximately 275.6 feet (84 meters) of net oil pay in a good quality Lower Cretaceous reservoir, according to an earlier news release.
“This discovery offshore Namibia and the very promising initial results prove the potential of this play in the Orange Basin, on which TotalEnergies owns an important position both in Namibia and South Africa”, Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice President Exploration at TotalEnergies, said in the release. “A comprehensive coring and logging program has been completed. This will enable the preparation of appraisal operations designed to assess the commerciality of this discovery”.
Block 2913B covers approximately 3,171.8 square miles (8,215 square kilometers) in deep offshore Namibia. TotalEnergies is the operator with a 40 percent working interest, alongside QatarEnergy with 30 percent, Impact Oil and Gas with 20 percent, and NAMCOR with 10 percent.
Block 2912, located offshore southern Namibia, covers approximately 3,044 square miles (7,884 square kilometers) in water depths between 9,842.5 and 12,795 feet (3,000 and 3,900 meters).
TotalEnergies has been present in Namibia since 1964 and is the fourth largest fuel distributor in the country with 40 service stations. In line with its multi-energy strategy, the company said it is looking for local opportunities to develop low carbon projects in the country.
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