(WO) — French major TotalEnergies announced the sale of its stake in 18 Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) in Nigeria – the majority of which are onshore – to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies this month. As an independent energy company, Chappal Energies specializes in revitalizing brownfield assets and unlocking latent value in Nigeria and Africa’s oil and gas resources.
The transaction is the latest in a series of deals in which junior and independent explorers – as well as African national oil companies (NOCs) – increasingly take ownership of onshore assets as global majors look to divest in favor of large-scale offshore operations . This trend will be explored at the Invest in African Energy 2025 Forum to be held in Paris in May 2025, along with the exploitation, merger and acquisition opportunities available on the African dry land. By showcasing Africa’s leading investment prospects, the forum aims to attract financial and technical partners to the sector, with a view to maximizing Africa’s oil and gas production.
The Nigerian market is a prime example of this industry shift. In January, British multinational Shell announced it would sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary – which holds stakes in 15 OMLs – to Renaissance, a joint venture where four out of five companies are local Nigerian exploration and production companies. Earlier this month, Nigerian multinational Oando completed the acquisition of Eni’s onshore business, while Chappal Energies acquired Equinor’s ownership of offshore OML 128 last November. Nigeria’s current 2024 bidding round includes two onshore blocks in the Niger Delta, which represents one of the world’s most established hydrocarbon provinces supported by extensive multi-client seismic data.
Angola is another important upstream market with untapped onshore potential, having focused mainly on offshore exploration and production to date. The development of the country’s onshore Kwanza Basin is being led by Angolan NOC Sonangol and Angola-based oil and gas company Corcel, which sped up the Tobias-14 well last September and is currently conducting the initial flow test.
In Angola’s latest onshore licensing round, nine companies were selected as operators and five as non-operators, after national regulator ANPG received more than 50 bids for 12 onshore blocks in the Lower Congo and Kwanza basins. The country’s upcoming round in 2025 includes four land blocks on offer, opening up attractive entry opportunities for indigenous and independent explorers.
Onshore prospects are also driving Africa’s frontier oil and gas markets. Earlier this month, Canadian independent ReconAfrica and joint venture partner NAMCOR identified the Naingopo exploration in Namibia’s dry Kavango Basin. The Kavango Basin hosts the Damara Fold Belt, a highly prospective play estimated to hold over 22 trillion cubic feet of undiscovered gas. Successful finds in the basin could establish Namibia as a major onshore market, in addition to the country’s productive discoveries in the offshore Orange Basin.
For junior and independent explorers, the advantages of entering the African onshore market are immeasurable: lower operating costs and easier access to equipment and infrastructure, combined with faster drilling times and reduced environmental risks. At a time when the global market demands strong fiscal and local value addition for exploration projects, Africa’s onshore prospects represent a strategic route for enhanced participation of African domestic explorers and diversification of the upstream landscape.