French energy company TotalEnergies has completed an asset swap with Portugal’s Galp, taking a 40% operated interest in Namibia’s PEL83 licence, which holds the Mopane oil discovery.
The transaction, agreed in December 2025, gives Galp a 10% participating interest in PEL56, home to the Venus discovery, and a 9.39% interest in PEL91. Both blocks are operated by TotalEnergies and located in Namibia.
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PEL83 is now shared between TotalEnergies as operator with 40%, Galp with 40%, national oil company Namcor with 10% and Namibian company Custos Energy with 10%.
In PEL56, TotalEnergies holds 35.25% as operator, alongside QatarEnergy (35.25%), Galp (10%), Namcor (10%) and Impact (9.5%).
PEL91 is held by TotalEnergies with 33.09% as operator, QatarEnergy on 33.03%, Namcor with 15%, Impact on 9.5% and Galp with 9.39%.
The closing of the swap deal has triggered an associated funding agreement under which half of Galp’s investment in a first Mopane development will be carried by TotalEnergies. The French major is also covering half of its partner’s exploration and appraisal costs on the discovery.
The two companies have committed to a campaign of at least three wells in PEL83 over the next two years to further de-risk the block and potentially unlock a development hub, with the first possible well under assessment for 2026.
TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné said: “We would like to thank the Namibian authorities for their swift approval of this strategic transaction with Galp, our new partner in Namibia. TotalEnergies’ entry as operator of the giant Mopane discovery marks a key milestone in our journey to establish a major production hub in Namibia.”
Pouyanné further said that the deal “positions TotalEnergies as the operator of Namibia’s two largest oil discoveries and strengthens its position in the Orange Basin”. He said that appraisal of Mopane will begin as early as the second half of 2026, with a final investment decision (FID) on the project targeted for 2028 following a three-well campaign.
Galp, on the other hand, said preparations for the next Mopane exploration and appraisal campaign are continuing, with drilling targeted in the fourth quarter.
At Venus, TotalEnergies is working on a development concept centred on a 160,000 barrels per day floating production, storage and offloading vessel, with an FID estimated for 2026.
Custos, which has retained its 10% stake in PEL83 and expects to advance Mopane towards production with its joint venture partners and the Namibian state, welcomed the change of operator.
Custos chairman and CEO Knowledge Katti said: “As a proudly Namibian company with a diverse shareholding, we see Mopane as far more than a resource. It is a platform to create lasting value for Namibians.”
Galp has operated in Namibia since 2012 and has drilled eight exploration and appraisal wells there, five of them since December 2023, work that led to the Mopane discovery.
TotalEnergies has been present in the country since 1964 and employs around 70 people there. It is also said to be Namibia’s third-largest fuel distributor, with 43 service stations, and is progressing its entry as the operator of PEL104.
