TotalEnergies Expands Namibian Presence
TotalEnergies signed agreements to acquire a 42.5% operated interest in offshore Namibia exploration license PEL104 from Eight Offshore Investments Holdings (Eight) and Maravilla Oil and Gas, with Eight retainng a 5% interest in the license.
PEL104, located in the Lüderitz basin, covers an area of approximately 11,000 km2.
"While progressing toward the development of Venus and Mopane discoveries, we are very pleased to expand our portfolio and continue exploring the prolific resources of Namibia in order to unlock further value that will benefit the country and all stakeholders,” said Nicolas Terraz, president of exploration and production at TotalEnergies.
TotalEnergies will serve as operator with partners Petrobras (42.5%), Namcor (10%), and Eight (5%).
PTTEP Signs FID on Offshore Malaysia Development
PTT Exploration and Production Public Company Ltd. (PTTEP) reached a final investment decision (FID) for the offshore Malaysia SK405B Project. PTTEP described the project as its first greenfield development project in Malaysia and as a key milestone supporting long-term growth.
PTTEP Sarawak Oil Ltd., serves as operator of the project, which includes the Sirung and Chenda fields. According to the company, the development plan for both fields includes a central processing platform and a wellhead platform. First oil production is targeted for 2028, with combined production capacity of approximately 15,000 BPD.
Additionally, the project features zero routine flaring and advanced remote-operated offshore operations.
PTTEP Sarawak Oil Ltd. holds 49.5% participating interest, with Petronas Carigali Sdn. Bhd. (25%) and Mitsui Energy Development Co. Ltd. (25.5%).
Beacon Begins Production at Zephyrus
Beacon Offshore Energy LLC began production at its Zephyrus field in Mississippi Canyon Block 759 in the Gulf of Mexico, located approximately 130 miles southeast of New Orleans. The field is located in water depths ranging from 3,100 to 3,600 ft.
Beacon drilled the field’s discovery well, Zephyrus #1, in 2023, where it discovered high-quality oil in the Middle Miocene Cris “I” aged M2 sand. The company coordinated with Shell to connect the Zephyrus field to the existing West Boreas subsea infrastructure, operated by Shell, for further processing on the Shell-operated Olympus production platform in the Mars Corridor.
The company also drilled Zephyrus #2 to a total measured depth of 26,270 ft, where the well encountered 116 net ft of pay across the producing M2 sand and two additional high-quality Miocene sands (M0 and UM1). Production at Zephyrus #2 is expected to begin in Q1 2026.
Beacon operates the Zephyrus field with partners Houston Energy, HEQ II, Red Willow Offshore, Westlawn Americas Offshore, and Murphy Exploration and Production.
Equinor Confirms Oil in Norwegian Sea
Equinor and its partners have discovered proven oil in wildcat well 6507/8-12 S in production license 124 B in the Norwegian Sea.
The well is part of the Othello South prospect located 4 km north of the Heidrun field and 240 km west of Sandnessjøen.
To date, nine exploration wells have been drilled as part of production license 124 with the 6507/8-12 S well being the first in production license B. The well was drilled to a vertical depth of 2,477 m and in water depths of 374 m.
Drilled by the Cosl Innovator drilling rig, preliminary estimates suggest the discovery holds approximately 0.95 to 12.6 million BOE. The rig will now move on to drill well 6610/7-U-3 in production license 1014 in the Norwegian Sea.
Shell Offloads Minor Interest in Brazilian Asset
Shell Brazil has entered into an agreement to sell 20% interest in the Orca project, formerly known as Gato do Mato, to Kuwait Foreign Petroleum Exploration Company (KUFPEC). Orca is a deepwater project in the pre-salt area of the Santos Basin.
Shell will serve as operator and retain 50% interest upon completion of the sale, with partners Ecopetrol (30%) and KUFPEC (20%).
The deal is expected to be completed by the end of 2026.
Chevron, Partners Move Ahead on Yoyo-Yolanda Project
Chevron-owned Noble Energy EG Ltd. and Noble Energy Cameroon Ltd. signed a unitization agreement with the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Cameroon to develop the Yoyo-Yolanda Project.
“The Yoyo‑Yolanda project is central to Chevron’s strategy of supporting long‑term LNG supply and leveraging existing infrastructure at Alen and Punta Europa,” said Jim Swartz, chairman and managing director of Chevron Nigeria and Mid-Africa Region, during the signing of the agreement in early February.
The Yoyo‑Yolanda Field is a cross-border offshore gas field shared between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon, estimated to contain 2.5 Tcf of gas in place.
The agreement comes nearly 3 years after the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of Cameroon signed a bilateral treaty in March 2023. The agreement enabled the joint development of oil and gas reserves along the two countries’ maritime border in the Gulf of Guinea, including the Chevron-operated Yoyo and Yolanda fields.
Eni Increases Cote d’Ivoire Interest
Eni signed an agreement with Azerbaijan’s state oil company SOCAR to purchase a 10% stake in Cote d’Ivoire's Baleine Project. The transaction follows the signing of three memorandums of understanding agreements the companies signed in 2024, focused on strengthening energy security by expanding cooperation in hydrocarbon exploration and production.
The Baleine project is Eni’s first development in the country and Africa’s first net-zero emissions project. Baleine was discovered in 2021 and reached production in 2023. It is now producing over 62,000 BOPD and 75 MMcf/D
of gas, with Phase 3 expected to lift output to 150,000 BOPD and 200 MMcf/D, strengthening Cote d'Ivoire's domestic energy supply.
Eni will serve as operator with 47.25% interest, with partners Vitol (30%) and Petroci (22.75%).
Bulgaria Takes Stake in Black Sea Block
OMV Petrom SA and NewMed Energy LP signed an agreement to sell the partnership’s 10% interest in the offshore Han Asparuh exploration block in the Black Sea to state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH). The Bulgarian parliament instructed the Energy Ministry to transfer up to 20% of the license to a state-owned company, NewMed Energy said in a stock filing.
The block lies south of Romania’s Neptun Deep block.
According to NewMed Energy, "The parties agreed to work jointly vis-à-vis the Bulgarian government and the Bulgarian Ministry of Energy in connection with amendments to the ordinance for determining the concession royalty payments for the production of underground resources and extension of the period of the appraisal drillings in the project to 2 years in lieu of 1 year."
OMV Petrom will continue to serve as operator with a 45% stake. NewMed Energy also holds 45%, with BEH holding the remaining 10%.
