TotalEnergies and Galp have high hopes from Namibia's production generation capacity.

Ahead of major exploration activities offshore Namibia following asset swaps in the region between TotalEnergies and Galp, the oil giants pledged long-term commitment to the country during a recent meeting with the President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah

With TotalEnergies acquiring operatorship of Petroleum Exploration License (PEL) 83 while Galp stepping into PEL 56 and PEL 91, the partners have expressed high hopes from Namibia's production generation capacity. This confidence builds on past results from the licenses, namely the Mopane and Venus discoveries, which brought the Orange Basin international-scale success.

The meeting comes in the wake of a potential final investment decision for Venus project and an exploration and appraisal campaign of three wells in the Mopane region. While expressing their readiness to advance local employment and skills development, the partners also sought continued regulatory support for the efficient execution of upcoming project phases. 

“Our partnership with Galp marks an important milestone as Namibia prepares to become an important energy‑producing nation. Together, we are committed to developing the country’s deepwater potential responsibly and efficiently, while building long‑term value for Namibia and other stakeholders. By aligning our strengths across both Venus and Mopane, we are laying the foundation for a new energy hub in the region—one that combines operational excellence, local development and shared prosperity,” said Patrick Pouyanne, chairman and CEO of TotalEnergies, who already have in place a well-defined development concept for the Venus exploration.

With Galp keen on research work before initiating the development of Mopane, the company's chairman, Paula Amorim, said, “Solid partnerships are a core pillar of Galp’s growth strategy. The Mopane discoveries represent a transformational opportunity and partnering with a global footprint deep‑water leader like TotalEnergies ensures these resources can be developed efficiently and sustainably for the benefit of Namibia and all stakeholders. Our commitment to Namibia has never been stronger. We are confident that this geography will emerge as a relevant future global energy ecosystem.”

Africa will drive global activity. (Image source: Rystad Energy)

Research firm, Rystad Energy, has predicted strong momentum to remain steady in Africa's exploration scene as operators are showing healthy risk appetites with wildcat drilling activities lined-up in the region 

High-impact wildcat wells were already trending in 2024 and 2025, reporting sharp success rates at 23% and 38% respectively. In a year-on-year basis, high-impact drilling has added around 2.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, recording a 53% boost in volumes. 

This will continue to be prevalent well into 2026 with Africa's Orange Basin and Gulf of Guinea driving global activity at around 40% of planned high-impact exploration wells. Almost all onshore high-impact drilling this year is expected to come from Africa, as Rystad notes a clear concentration in ultra-deepwater and frontier exploration. 

“What we are seeing in 2026 is a clear shift in where operators are willing to deploy capital. Ultra-deepwater and frontier plays remain capital-intensive, but they also offer scale and material upside at a time when conventional opportunities are increasingly limited. Africa stands out because it still combines geological potential with the prospect of large, commercially meaningful discoveries, particularly for operators looking to secure long-life resources in a tightening global supply environment,” said Aatisha Mahajan, head of exploration, oil & gas research, Rystad Energy. 

Factors that determine how high-impact a well is include resources size, potential hydrocarbon plays in frontier or emerging basins, and their significance to the operator. 

Awodi-07 drilling had commenced late last year.

As operator of a joint venture with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, Chevron Nigeria Limited has completed appraisal and exploration activities in the Awodi-07 well positioned in the shallow offshore western Niger Delta

Amid a 40%-60% dynamic with NNPC retaining the larger share and Chevron enjoying Operator status, both the partners are well positioned to expand their asset portfolios by leveraging resources, expertise and investment in developing Nigeria’s oil and gas resources. Through this collaboration, the partners aim to increase oil production to about 146,000 barrels per day.

With promising results reinforcing the prospectivity of the Awodi-07 well, this comes as a win for the partners as it significantly adds to their collective objective of boosting Nigeria's production rates to 146,000 barrels per day. Several reservoir zones in the well were underlined with considerable hydrocarbon presence. This was confirmed following months of consistent exploration efforts led by sound technical evaluation. 

Drilling had commenced late last year in compliance with approved operational and regulatory standards, followed by comprehensive testing, logging, and data acquisition, before the well was safely secured. 

Calling it a milestone led by sustained collaboration and stable working environment, Udy Ntia, executive vice president - upstream, NNPC, said, “This discovery underscores the importance of disciplined exploration programmes, strong partnerships, and the positive impact of the reforms introduced under the Petroleum Industry Act. We look forward to working closely with Chevron Nigeria Limited to mature this opportunity and progress it towards timely development and monetisation.”

On the same tune, NNPC's group chief executive officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, said, “The success of the Awodi-07 well further reinforces the strength of the NNPC Ltd/CNL Joint Venture and our shared commitment to responsibly growing Nigeria’s hydrocarbon reserves. This achievement aligns squarely with our strategic priorities of increasing production, enhancing national energy security, and delivering sustainable value for the Nigerian people.”

TotalEnergies plans to kickstart additional phased investments. (Image source: TotalEnergies)

The Waha Concessions onshore Libya will see increased production as TotalEnergies secured a 34-year extension agreement during the recently-concluded Libya Energy & Economy Summit in Tripoli

Signed by the major's chairman and chief executive officer, Patrick Pouyanné, in the presence of Abdul Hamid Dbeiba, Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, the agreement permits the company to operate in the region for as long as 31 December 2050. This move further solidifies TotalEnergies' presence in Libya that goes back as far as 1956. 

“As we celebrate 70 years of presence in Libya, we are pleased to sign this agreement, and I would like to thank the Libyan authorities for their continued support, in particular Dr. Khalifa Rajab Abdulsadek, Minister of Oil and Gas of Libya and Masoud Suleman, Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC)," said Pouyanné. 

As the concessions continue to produce around 370,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d), TotalEnergies plans to kickstart additional phased investments that will advance the development of the North Gialo field. This will unlock 100,000 boe/d of boosted production.

As the announcement marked the major's elaborate plans for long-term production strategy from the region, Pouyanné said, "Extending the Waha concession, with its low cost and low emission giant resources offering many opportunities to grow production, fits perfectly with our strategy.”