"TotalEnergies appears to have fended off rivals to submit what may be a winning bid to secure an operating stake in Galp Energia's huge Mopane discovery offshore Namibia. According to Reuters, Petrobras chief executive Magda Chambriard said the Brazilian major was outbid by France's TotalEnergies for a share in Mopane. However, she told the news agency: "We hope to be invited" to develop Mopane in the Orange basin, without giving further details.
The initial thoughts of one market source familiar with Namibia said TotalEnergies could be trying to make the Orange basin their Guyana basin, a reference to ExxonMobil building up a dominant offshore position in the South American nation's oil-rich waters. "(They) will control the entire fairway and will make it their next 30 years golden egg," adding that the French giant also operates Orange basin blocks in South African waters. TotalEnergies and Galp have been approached for comment.
The French supermajor is already in the midst of developing its multibillion-barrel Venus discovery in Namibia's Orange basin. Mopane would add huge ballast to the company's reserves in Namibia given Galp has previously said the Mopane complex houses resources of 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent. In late April, Galp Energia's co-chief executive Maria Joao Carioca said talks had been reignited with players battling to bag a big stake in Mopane, amid hopes a deal could be finalised by the end of 2025. Carioca said at the time: “What we're doing, to a very large extent, is re-engaging with the interested parties that we've had conversations with before.” The parties have previously been reported to include Petrobras, Chevron, Shell, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil and Woodside Energy."
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