TotalEnergies has 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.
Following completion of the transaction, 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%). The transaction is subject to final approvals from relevant authorities.
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%).
“Following the Venus success in Namibia, TotalEnergies is continuing to progress its Exploration effort in the Orange Basin, by entering this promising exploration license in South Africa”, said Kevin McLachlan, Senior Vice-President Exploration of TotalEnergies.
“Attracting TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy as our new partners in Block 3B/4B is an endorsement of the exploration potential of the block. These opportunities are on trend with the discoveries in Namibia’s Orange Basin, including Venus in Block 2913B.
“Both companies have deep geological knowledge of the basin with successful nearby discoveries. TotalEnergies, as the new operator, also brings extensive deepwater drilling and development expertise,” added Roger Tucker, Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer.