TotalEnergies has announced the signing of agreements with Conoil Producing Limited for an asset swap involving two offshore blocks in Nigeria.

Under the deal, TotalEnergies will acquire a 50 per cent operated stake in Oil Prospecting Licence 257 from Conoil, while Conoil will take over TotalEnergies’ 40 per cent participating interest in Oil Mining Lease 136.

According to a statement issued by the energy firm on Wednesday, with the transaction, TotalEnergies’ holding in OPL 257 will rise from 40 per cent to 90 per cent, leaving Conoil with a 10 per cent stake.

OPL 257, which covers about 370 square kilometres, lies 150 kilometres off the Nigerian coast.

The block sits next to PPL 261, where TotalEnergies and its partners discovered the Egina South field in 2005.

The field extends into OPL 257, and an appraisal well is planned for 2026. The discovery is expected to be developed as a tie-back to the Egina FPSO, located roughly 30 kilometres away.

The statement quoted the Senior Vice-President Africa, Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, Mike Sangster, as saying, “This transaction, built on our longstanding partnership with Conoil, will enable TotalEnergies to proceed with the appraisal of the Egina South discovery, an attractive tie-back opportunity for Egina FPSO.

“This fits perfectly with our strategy to leverage existing production facilities to profitably develop additional resources and to focus on our operated gas and offshore oil assets in Nigeria.”

Completion of the deal is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.