To date, four discoveries have been made at the two blocks that include Cameia, Mavinga, Bicuar and Golfinho
Image: Total will acquire majority stake in two new offshore licenses. Photo: courtesy of C Morrison from Pixabay.
French oil and gas giant Total has signed an agreement to acquire stakes in Blocks 20/11 and 21/09 located in the Kwanza Basin, offshore Luanda, Angola from Angola’s state-owned firm Sonangol.
Under the terms of the deal, Total will acquire a 50% stake in Block 20/11 and a further 80% stake in Block 21/09 by paying $400m on the closing of the deal. The firm will also pay another $100m upon completion of final investment decision (FID).
An additional amount of up to $250m could be paid by Total to Sonangol over the project’s life, depending on production and pricing.
Until date, four discoveries have been made at the two blocks including Cameia, Mavinga, Bicuar and Golfinho.
Total to further explore potential resources in the two blocks
Besides unlocking the discovered resources’ value by creating a development hub, Total is planning to explore for further potential resources in the two blocks.
Upon completion of the deal, which is subject to approvals of the competent authorities and partners, Total will operate the Block 20/11 with 50% interest alongside Sonangol (20%) and BP (30%). The block is located water depths ranging from 300m to 1,700m.
Additionally, Total will operate Block 21/09, located in water depths ranging from 1,600m to 1,800m, with 80% stake. The remaining 20% stake will be held by Sonangol.
Total chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “We are very pleased to demonstrate once again our pioneer spirit and our commitment to continue developing Angola’s energy sector by becoming the first company to undertake a development in the Kwanza Basin.”
Separately, Total and its partners have agreed with national oil, gas and biofuels agency ANPG and Sonangol to extend the Block 17 production licenses to 2045.
Located 150km off the Angolan coast in water depths ranging from 600m to 1,400m, the Block 17 is currently producing around 440,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. It has capacity to further produce more than 1 billion barrels.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sonangol will acquire 5% interest in Block 17 and an additional 5% interest in 2036.
Upon completion of the deal, the Block 17 will be operated by Total with 38% interest, alongside Equinor (22.16%), Exxon Mobil (19%), BP (15.84%), and Sonangol (5%).
In November 2019, Total has officially inaugurated the Kaombo project, a $16bn deep offshore development in Angola.