Total Energies just pulled a major power move in Nigeria’s offshore energy space, reshuffling ownership stakes to tighten its grip on one of the country’s strategic oil blocks. The company inked a deal with longtime partner Conoil Producing Limited to acquire a 50% operated interest in OPL 257 — while handing over its 40% share in OML 136 to Conoil. Both blocks sit deep offshore, where Nigeria’s most promising energy assets lie.
With this swap, Total Energies now controls a massive 90% of OPL 257, leaving Conoil with the remaining 10%. The block isn’t just empty ocean — it hosts an oil discovery dating back to 2005 on the PP261 structure, which stretches across the block. Total Energies isn’t wasting time; an appraisal well is already planned for 2026 as part of its next drilling campaign. And because OPL 257 sits close to the Egina field, any successful finds could be quickly tied back to the existing FPSO, reducing development time and cost.
This entire move lines up neatly with TotalEnergies’ long-term blueprint for Nigeria: operate more of its own assets, bet big on gas and offshore oil, and fast-track development opportunities instead of letting resources sit idle. Over the last two years, the company has been stacking major milestones — from the Ubeta FID in June 2024 to its entry into the PPL 2000/2001 exploration space in August 2025.
With key projects like Akpo West and Ubeta already moving forward, this latest stake increase in OPL 257 reinforces one thing: TotalEnergies isn’t just hanging around in Nigeria; they’re doubling down. And their investment aligns tightly with Nigeria’s national push to attract fresh capital and ramp up production across the sector.
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