- In a brief statement TotalEnergies has announced its withdrawal from discoveries of gas-condensate off the tip of South Africa.
- This follows the decision of the the partner CNRI to withdraw from Block 11B/12B in which TotalEnergies EP South Africa holds a 45% interest.
TotalEnergies entered into Block 11B/12B in 2013 and made two gas discoveries, Brulpadda and Luiperd, which could however not be turned into a commercial development as it appeared to be too challenging to economically develop and monetize these gas discoveries for the South African market.
TotalEnergies has also decided to exit from offshore exploration Block 5/6/7 where TotalEnergies EP South Africa currently holds a 40% interest
The company will now likely concentrate on exploring the Orange Basin, located further north on the Atlantic coast of South Africa.
In March this year, TotalEnergies signed, together with its partner QatarEnergy, an agreement to acquire participating interests in Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa, from Africa Oil South Africa, Azinam (a wholly owned subsidiary of Eco Atlantic Oil and Gas) and Ricocure. TotalEnergies will hold a 33% participating interest in Block 3B/4B and assume operatorship, while QatarEnergy will hold a 24% interest.
The remaining interests will be held by existing license holders, Africa Oil SA (17%), Ricocure (19.75%) and Azinam (6.25%).
Located within the prolific Orange basin, 200 km off the western coast of South Africa, Block 3B/4B covers an area of 17,581 km2. Block 3B/4B is adjacent to the DWOB license operated by TotalEnergies (50%) alongside QatarEnergy (30%) and Sezigyn (20%).
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
