PPL 2000 & 2001 cover an area of approximately 2,000 sq km.

Following the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission-organised 2024 Exploration Round, TotalEnergies has signed a production sharing contract (PSC) for operatorship with 80% interest in PPL 2000 and PPL 2001 exploration licenses offshore Nigeria

Other partner in the licenses is South Atlantic Petroleum with a 20% interest.

PPL 2000 & 2001, covering an area of approximately 2,000 square kilometers, are located in the prolific West Delta basin. The work programme includes drilling one firm exploration well.

“TotalEnergies is honoured to be the first international company to be awarded exploration licenses in a bid round in Nigeria in more than a decade, marking a new milestone in our long-term partnership with the country,” said Kevin McLachlan, senior vice-president for Exploration at TotalEnergies.“These promising block captures are fully aligned with our strategy of strengthening our exploration portfolio with drill-ready and high impact prospects, that have the potential for low-cost and low-emissions developments from new discoveries in our core areas of expertise.”

The permit spans 1,000 sq km and lies 100 kilometers off the coast of Pointe-Noire. (Image source: TotalEnergies)

A new exploration project is brewing in the Republic of Congo as TotalEnergies, alongside QatarEnergy (35%) and the national company SNPC (15%), wins Operatorship with 50% interests in the Nzombo exploration permit

A work programme has been designed to initiate spudding by the year-end so that drilling activities for one of the wells can begin soon after. The permit spans 1,000 sq km and lies 100 kilometers off the coast of Pointe-Noire, close to the Moho production facilities operated by TotalEnergies EP Congo.

"This award of a promising Exploration permit, with the material Nzombo prospect, reflects our continued strategy of expanding our Exploration portfolio with high impact prospects, which can be developed leveraging our existing facilities, and confirms our longstanding partnership with the Republic of the Congo," said Kevin McLachlan, senior vice-president for Exploration at TotalEnergies.

ExxonMobil will conduct a detailed technical study offshore Libya. (Image source: NOC Libya)

Libya's National Oil Corporation has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the American international oil company ExxonMobil 

The MoU will enable the oil major to conduct a detailed technical study to identify hydrocarbon presence on four offshore blocks located near the northwest coast and the Sirte Basin.

The collaboration reinforces resumption of the partnership between NOC and ExxonMobil, which aims to restart its activities in Libya after a decade-long hiatus.

In a speech at the signing ceremony, the chairman of the NOC Board of Directors, Engineer Masoud Suleman, emphasised the corporation’s commitment to expanding partnerships with major American energy companies, particularly ExxonMobil. He expressed confidence in the potential for positive outcomes based on the history of their collaboration. He also noted that the contract terms are now more favorable than in the past, reflecting global changes in the energy sector, and that the conditions are ideal for achieving success.

He praised the value of Libyan expertise and technical personnel in exploration, development, and drilling by highlighting their ability to conduct essential preliminary studies that provide the data companies need to initiate exploration activities.

It is worth noting that ExxonMobil was one of the companies that expressed interest in participating in the public bidding round initiated by the NOC for exploration in Libya, which includes 22 offshore and onshore blocks available for investment.

The drilling is part of a 100-day three-well work-programme to redevelop the Sèmè Field.

Rex International Holding Limited-subsidiary, Akrake Petroleum Benin SA, has spudded the first well in the Sèmè Field in Block 1, Benin, using the Borr Gerd jack-up drilling rig

The drilling is part of a 100-day three-well work-programme to redevelop the Sèmè Field. The drilling campaign includes two horizontal production wells in the H6 formation (previously developed), as well as a deeper vertical appraisal well to gather data from the H7 and H8 reservoirs, to facilitate the potential advancement to Phase 2 of the development.

Steve Moore, deputy chief operating officer of Rex and general manager of Akrake Petroleum, said, “We are excited to bring oil production back to the Sèmè Field and to Benin after such a long time, and we would like to express our deep appreciation to the Benin authorities and our local partner Octogone E&P S.A. for their strong support and cooperation in all aspects of this drilling operation, allowing us to achieve first oil in as short a time as possible.”

Lars B. Hübert, chief executive officer of Lime Petroleum Holding AS, said, “2025 will be a pivotal year for our three wholly-owned subsidiaries: Akrake Petroleum in Benin, Lime Petroleum AS in Norway and Lime Resources Germany GmbH in Germany. This work-programme in Benin is just one of several high-impact operations happening within our multinational portfolio of assets in 2025. We are leveraging on the collective experience and expertise of LPH’s teams across geographies, as well as from the wider Rex Group, for geological & geophysical work, seismic analysis, procurement, operations, asset development and fundraising, among others; and are on track to quickly add reserves and establish production in the countries in which we operate.”