French energy major TotalEnergies plans to invest $10 billion with its partners in Angola over the next five years to support oil production and exploration as the country seeks to sustain output from its mature offshore fields.

TotalEnergies, Angola’s largest oil operator, currently produces approximately 450,000 barrels per day in the country and aims to maintain production at that level, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné said at an oil conference in Luanda.

Angola, sub-Saharan Africa’s second-largest crude oil producer after Nigeria, is targeting production of around 1 million barrels per day as it seeks to attract fresh investment into its oil industry following regulatory reforms designed to encourage exploration and development.

Kaminho project anchors investment

TotalEnergies is developing the $6 billion Kaminho project, located approximately 100 kilometres offshore Angola in the Kwanza Basin, after taking a final investment decision in 2024.

The project, which will be connected to the company’s seventh floating production, storage and offloading vessel, is expected to begin production in 2028.

Pouyanné said continued investment would be necessary to maintain production levels as its offshore fields mature. “Investments are necessary to achieve these production levels,” he told delegates at the conference.

TotalEnergies expands offshore exploration

The French energy group has also signed two new exploration licences covering offshore Blocks 17 and 32 in partnership with ExxonMobil. The agreements form part of efforts to identify additional oil resources in the country’s offshore basins and support longer-term production.

TotalEnergies also plans to launch an artificial intelligence-powered geoscience initiative with major industry companies to support exploration across Angola’s offshore oil blocks.

Pouyanné said the technology would initially be applied to the Angolan Basin, where TotalEnergies believes further discoveries could be made, including in areas around Block 17 and Block 0.

The new investment and exploration initiatives come as it seeks to reverse the decline associated with mature offshore assets and sustain its position as one of Africa’s leading oil producers.

For TotalEnergies, the programme reinforces its importance to its upstream portfolio while combining new production projects with exploration and technology to extend the life of the country’s oil industry.