LNG

TotalEnergies has signed an agreement to sell, jointly with Inpex Corp. of Japan, interests in the offshore Angola Block 14 to the Angolan Company Somoil, though the French major stressed it would remain a key player LNG and oil and natural gas in the southwest African nation.

Block 14 is located about 100 kilometres offshore from Cabinda in Angola and covers 4,094 square kilometres with a water depth ranging from 200 metres to 1,500 metres.

TotalEnergies said the sale to Somoil was still subject to the approval of the Angolan authorities. The value of the transaction was not disclosed.

The offshore areas in blocks 14 have been producing since 1999. Net production from the Angola Block 14 BV area was 9,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2021.

“By divesting this interest in mature fields, TotalEnergies is implementing its strategy to high-grade its oil portfolio, focusing on assets with low costs and low emissions" said Henri-Max Ndong-Nzue, Senior Vice President Africa for TotalEnergies Exploration and Production.

“TotalEnergies remains the number one energy player in Angola, through its leading operating position in deep-offshore, its interest in Angola LNG and in a first solar power plant project, Quilemba Solar, located in the southwest of the country,” added Ndong-Nzue.

Angola is the second-largest oil producer in Sub-Saharan Africa and uses associated gas to produce LNG as a clean energy source at its liquefaction plant, operated by the main shareholder, the US major Chevron Corp.

The LNG plant is just south of the territory of Cabinda, the nearest land to Block 14.

TotalEnergies is also a shareholder in Angola LNG along with Italy’s Eni, UK major BP and Angolan state energy company Sonangol.

The Angola LNG plant is located 350 kilometres north of the capital Luanda in Soyo, at the mouth of the Congo River, and is one of the world’s most modern LNG processing facilities.

A pipeline network of over 500 kilometres delivers gas from offshore oil fields to the Soyo plant designed to process 1.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day and produce 5.2 million tonnes per annum of LNG.

Eni of Italy has achieved the start-up of the Cabaça North project offshore Angola as the southwest African nation has also just awarded nine onshore licences to 14 companies for blocks in the Congo River basin and a basin further to the south.