TotalEnergies Raises Operating Stake in OPL 257 to 90% in Swap Deal

Key Facts

TotalEnergies announced on 19 November 2025 that it had signed an agreement with Conoil Producing Limited to swap stakes in two offshore areas in Nigeria, raising its operating stake in OPL 257 from 40% to 90%. Under the agreement, TotalEnergies will acquire a 50% operating stake in OPL 257 from Conoil, while TotalEnergies’ 40% stake in OML 136 will transfer to Conoil. The company said the agreement would allow it to proceed with evaluating the Egina South discovery while strengthening its operational control over the area in which the discovery extends. The deal therefore involves more than transferring a stake in a single asset; it reallocates ownership between the two parties across two offshore areas. Once completed, Conoil will retain a 10% stake in OPL 257.

OPL 257 lies about 150 kilometers offshore Nigeria and covers an area of approximately 370 square kilometers. The area adjoins PPL 261, where TotalEnergies and its partners discovered Egina South in 2005; the discovery extends into OPL 257. In November 2025, the company said an appraisal well for the discovery was planned for 2026 on the part of the field within OPL 257. Raising its stake to 90% gives TotalEnergies a larger operating interest in the area where the appraisal will take place, while Conoil will retain a 10% minority stake after the deal is completed. The expected ownership structure shows how the agreement is directly linked to the next step in evaluating the discovery.

TotalEnergies’ senior vice president of exploration and production in Africa said the deal, built on a long-standing partnership with Conoil, “will enable TotalEnergies to proceed with the appraisal of the Egina South discovery.” The company added that the agreement offers an opportunity to develop the field by tying it into existing production facilities and aligns with its focus on operated gas assets and offshore oil assets in Nigeria. Egina South is expected to be developed by connecting it to the Egina floating production, storage and offloading facility, which is about 30 kilometers from the field. This option would make use of an existing facility instead of building a separate production route, according to the company’s description of the development plan. Drilling the appraisal well planned for 2026 remains an important step in evaluating the discovery before proceeding with its development.

Completion of the agreement was subject to customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, according to a TotalEnergies statement. The statement did not specify a completion date, while the company linked its announced plan to appraising Egina South and drilling a well in 2026 on the OPL 257 side. In its second-quarter 2026 report, Meren Energy said preparations for the planned appraisal well in the neighboring area continued during the quarter, and its inclusion in the next Akpo/Egina drilling campaign was under consideration. This provides a later update on the appraisal plan TotalEnergies announced in November 2025, without changing the terms of the announced deal. Completion of the agreement remains subject to regulatory approvals and other customary conditions.

The deal forms part of TotalEnergies’ Nigerian portfolio. The company said it produced 209,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024, with Nigeria among the main contributors to its hydrocarbon production. In its November 2025 announcement, the company said it had operated in the country for more than 60 years and employed more than 1,800 people across various activities. In the broader context of the Nigerian market, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission reported that the country’s production in July 2026 reached 1.505 million barrels per day of crude and 0.17 million of condensates, for a total of 1.67 million barrels per day, down 4% month on month. The commission also said in August 2026 that a new incentive framework for deepwater projects could unlock investments of 50 billion dollars, and that nine projects had approved development plans and were heading toward final investment decisions in the near to medium term. This places an offshore discovery appraisal plan in the context of Nigeria’s efforts to attract deepwater investment, as described by the commission.

The agreement is separate from another sale announced by TotalEnergies on 27 October 2026, when it said it had completed the sale of a 10% non-operated stake in the Nigerian Renaissance joint venture licenses to Vaaris for 800 million dollars. The Conoil agreement, announced in November 2025, involves a swap of stakes between OML 136 and OPL 257, and the statement did not disclose a cash value for the deal. In trading, TotalEnergies shares listed in London under the ticker TTE.L closed at 88.5 pounds sterling on 29 October 2026, according to EL7 data. The closing price applies to that day and does not specify the effect of the agreement announced in 2025 on the share price. This distinction between the two deals keeps the picture of the company’s Nigerian activity tied to the terms and timing of each agreement.