• Galp and TotalEnergies strike asset-swap deal giving TotalEnergies control of Namibia’s Mopane find
  
  
• Galp gains stakes in Venus and PEL 91 as firms rebalance offshore portfolios
  
  
• TotalEnergies to cover half of Mopane appraisal costs as partners plan 2026 drilling

Portugal’s Galp has reached an agreement with France’s TotalEnergies over the Mopane oil discovery offshore Namibia, according to international media reports on Tuesday, which cited a company statement.

The deal comes after months of efforts by Galp to bring in a partner for the Mopane find, which followed its 2023-2024 drilling campaign. Under the agreement, TotalEnergies takes operatorship of the PEL 83 license in the Orange Basin, giving it control of the Mopane project along with a 40 percent stake.

In return, Galp receives a 10 percent stake in the PEL 56 license, home to the Venus oil discovery, and a 9.39 percent stake in PEL 91. The asset swap positions TotalEnergies to lead development of what has been described as one of the basin’s most significant recent discoveries.

Financial terms were not fully disclosed. However, press reports say TotalEnergies will shoulder half of Mopane’s exploration and appraisal costs, with Galp expected to reimburse that spending through future revenue generated from the license.

The companies said the transaction helps rebalance their portfolios and streamline management of their offshore assets. TotalEnergies noted in a statement that adding PEL 83 enables it to coordinate work across the two neighboring and closely related licenses, Venus and Mopane.

Galp said the move reduces its financial exposure while giving it access to strategic positions in the basin.

With the agreement now finalized, the partners plan to resume appraisal drilling, with several wells expected from 2026 onward. These operations will provide data to confirm estimated volumes and reservoir characteristics and will guide decisions on the project’s next development phase.

Abdel-Latif Boureima