TotalEnergies will drill an exploration well on the Marine XX offshore licence this year, a company official has said.
Henri-Max Ndong Nzue, Total’s senior vice president in Africa for exploration and production, confirmed the plan this week. Nzue was speaking to the press following a meeting with Congolese President Denis Sassou Nguesso in Brazzaville.
A representative of the French company confirmed the plans for the Niamou well in 2023, in around 2,000 metres of water. The exploration well will be Total’s first exploration well in the country for some years.
The Congolese embassy in France reported the meeting had taken place in the presidential palace on July 3.
“We discussed, I would say, the work in progress within Total Energies E&P Congo. What we are doing in terms of operations, support for our hydrocarbon production and then the way in which we are preparing”, said Nzue.
The Total executive also discussed plans for tree planting in Congo under the Makasi project.
“TotalEnergies is a long-term partner of the Republic of Congo”, he said. This is “not only in its traditional businesses of oil and gas production, but also … we are building new partnerships”. New areas of co-operation include hydropower and solar energy, Nzue said.
Brazzaville awarded the deep offshore block to Total in February 2020. The company also won the onshore blocks Nanga and Mokelembembe. Total dropped the latter block by the end of 2021.
At Marine XX, the company initially said it was planning to drill the well in 2022.
Total and Woodside Energy won the block and then farmed down a 30% stake to Petronas in July 2022. Woodside was left with 22.5%, from its original 42.5%.
Woodside has said there is a one-well commitment on the licence, due by the end of 2025.
Eni has two rigs in country at the moment, Borr Drilling’s Prospector 5 and Natt, under contracts that will run to February 2024.
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