Total Wants to Sell its Stakes in Angolan Oil Fields

Total is looking to sell stakes in a number of oil fields in Angola, a move that is considered to be an early indication of a planned wave of divestments from the West African nation by major energy firms, industry sources said.

The logo of the French oil and gas firm Total will be unveiled at the Neuville Saint Remy petrol station in France on October 1 , 2020. According to sources, Total could raise around $300 million, from the selling of its 20 percent stake in offshore Block 14 belonging to Angola, which includes the Tombua-Landana, Kuito fields, and a cluster of fields that make up the BBLT project, . In 2019, Chevron CVX.N-operated Block 14 produced approximately 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

One of the sources said the selling of Total’s Block 14 stake is part of the company’s push to concentrate on its larger and more lucrative oil and gas fields in Angola, where it remains the largest operator.

Last December, in Angola’s giant Block 17, Total and its partners expanded their production licenses.

In the coming years, Total and rivals like BP BP.L, Chevron, and Exxon Mobil XOM.N plan to sell tens of billions of oil and gas assets worldwide in order to minimize the debt that ballooned after the crash of oil prices due to the coronavirus crisis.

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Those disposals are expected to include a number of stakes in Angolan oilfields, where production is generally more complex and expensive than other basins, the sources said.

For European companies, the sales are also part of a long-term strategy to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy and power markets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Unlike most big oil companies, Total does not provide a clear divestment target.

HSBC analysts, however, estimate that Total will sell around 200,000 BPD of production over the coming decade to meet its target of keeping production unchanged until 2025.