TotalEnergies sells 40 per cent of an offshore block to Nigeria's SAPETRO, with drilling to follow
The deal on OPL257, home to part of the Egina South discovery, leaves TotalEnergies as operator with 50 per cent. The company says an appraisal campaign will start in the coming months.
In 30 seconds
- TotalEnergies signed a deal on 30 October to transfer 40 per cent of offshore block OPL257 to South Atlantic Petroleum (SAPETRO).
- After the deal TotalEnergies keeps 50 per cent and stays operator. Conoil holds the other 10 per cent.
- The block holds part of Egina South, a 2005 discovery about 30 km from the Egina production vessel.
- The deal still needs regulatory approval. No price was disclosed.
TotalEnergies has agreed to sell 40 per cent of an offshore exploration block in Nigeria to South Atlantic Petroleum, the Nigerian company known as SAPETRO.
The French company said it signed the farm-out agreement on Friday 30 October, Rigzone reported. The block is OPL257, about 150 km off the coast.
Who holds what
Once the deal closes, TotalEnergies will hold 50 per cent and remain the operator. SAPETRO will hold 40 per cent and Conoil 10 per cent. No price was disclosed.
The deal still needs approval from regulators and must meet other usual conditions before it is final.
Billionaires.Africa reported that TotalEnergies had agreed in November 2025 to buy a further 50 per cent of OPL257 from Conoil. That took its stake to 90 per cent before this sale. SAPETRO is also a partner in PPL261, the block next door.
Why this block matters
OPL257 holds part of Egina South, a discovery made in 2005. The find straddles OPL257 and PPL261.
It sits about 30 km from the Egina FPSO, the floating production vessel that has produced oil in the area since 2018. Egina has a declared capacity of 200,000 barrels a day. Being close to existing equipment can make a new field cheaper and quicker to develop, because it can be tied back to what is already there.
"An appraisal campaign on the OPL257 side of the field will be undertaken in the coming months," TotalEnergies said, according to Rigzone. Mike Sangster, the company's senior vice president for exploration and production in Africa, said the partnership "paves the way for a quick appraisal campaign".
A busy year for TotalEnergies in Nigeria
The company has been reshaping its Nigerian business. Rigzone reported that it recently completed the sale of its 10 per cent stake in the Renaissance joint venture to Vaaris Resources for $800 million. Late last year it sold 12.5 per cent of the Bonga field to Shell and Eni for $510 million.
At the same time it is putting more money into gas. Earlier this year it took a final investment decision on the Ima gas project, which will supply up to 350 million cubic feet a day to Nigeria LNG from 2028, Rigzone said. What NLNG's Train 7 is, simply.
What it means for you
A single block will not change fuel prices. But appraisal drilling is a step towards new production, and new production means more oil revenue for government and more work for Nigerian service firms.
It also puts a Nigerian-owned company next to the operator on a deep-water appraisal. If the wells confirm a field worth developing, that is the kind of experience local firms need to run such projects themselves.
Words to know
- OPL
- Oil prospecting licence, a licence to explore a block.
- Farm-out
- When a company sells part of its stake in a block to a partner.
- Appraisal
- Drilling more wells after a discovery to find out how much oil or gas is there and whether it is worth developing.
- FPSO
- A floating ship that produces, stores and offloads oil at sea.
Sources
- Rigzone: TotalEnergies farms out Nigerian exploration block (1 Nov 2026, citing a TotalEnergies statement)
- Billionaires.Africa: SAPETRO buys 40% stake in TotalEnergies offshore oil block (2 Nov 2026)
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