21/09/2026 by Joel Thompson
Integrated energy giant TotalEnergies has announced a new oil discovery in Angola’s Block 17.
The Acacia-5 discovery is the second in the country this year for the company. The first was in Block 0, where TotalEnergies holds a 10% interest. Most notably, TotalEnergies, which operates the block with a 38% interest, is going to fast-track the development by taking advantage of the Pazflor FPSO’s spare capacity. It will go from discovery to production in just three months and add an additional 6,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production for Block 17.
The CEO and chairman of TotalEnergies, Patrick Pouyanné, expressed pleasure at announcing the successful exploration. It said it justified the company’s faith in Angola as an attractive prospect, adding:
“Exploration is a key pillar of our ambition in Angola, supported by the incentives introduced to encourage investment. Together with our partners, we aim to explore further and unlock new resources, sustaining a strong exploration effort to identify new opportunities across Angola’s offshore basins.”
The company has also signed agreements with the Angolan government’s concessionaire to enter Blocks 17/25 and 32/21 as operator with a 40% interest. ExxonMobil (40%), the maker of the Mobil DTE hydraulic oil, and Sonangol E&P own the remaining interests (20%).
These offer some promising prospects, with them having already been subjected to 3D seismic surveys. They are also close to TotalEnergies’ existing facilities in Blocks 17 and 32. This could potentially pave the way for further rapid, cost-efficient development through tiebacks to these facilities.
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