TOTAL set to open discussions with Nigeria for new licenses

…Says Nigeria has big potential yet to be explored

The Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva Thursday, in his office in Abuja, received the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of TOTAL, Patrick Pouyanne who led a high-powered delegation of the Oil and Gas Giant on a strategic visit.

The delegation comprised of the President, Exploration & Production, Arnaud Breuillac, Senior Vice President, E&P Africa, Nicolas Terraz, Country Chair/Managing Director of Total Upstream Companies in Nigeria, Mike Sangster, Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater District, Ahmadu-Kida Musa and Executive Director, Corporate Affairs & Services, Abiodun Afolabi.

Garba Deen Muhammad, Group General Manager/Special Adviser on Media to the Honourable Minister, said in a statement that the TOTAL Chairman and Chief Executive Officer while noting the Group’s commitment to deepening investments in the country, stated that “Nigeria has a big potential that has not been fully explored and we (TOTAL) are ready to open discussions for new licenses.”

He further stated that “we (TOTAL) will continue to invest more and it is imperative to have conversations that will ensure a rewarding investment structure.”

He also reiterated the need for reinvestments stemming from the return on earlier investments with a focus on the practicality of the Egina Field while noting that “in a show of commitment, TOTAL is committed to reinvestments in the country from the proceeds of the Egina venture.”

Chief Sylva in his remark, according to the statement, noted that TOTAL remains an important partner in Nigeria’s Oil and Gas landscape while name-checking the Group’s Nigerian content achievement with the laudable Egina field with a production of about 200,000 barrels of oil per day, representing over 10% of Nigeria’s production, at plateau.

He further applauded TOTAL for the notable investment in the Downstream Sector and recent strides in the Solar Energy business.

The minister assured that “the Nigerian Government will do everything to encourage the further stay of TOTAL” while adjuring on the need for the right high-level representation of the Group at occasions instanced by the Nigerian Government. Chief Sylva led the Group for an audience with President Muhammadu Buhari, afterwards at the Aso Rock Villa.

It may be recalled that Mr. Patrick Pouyanne had earlier visited Nigeria in April 2019 where he noted that “Nigeria is important to the TOTAL Group as the country now represents about 10% of the Group’s global production. Nigeria has a lot of prolific oil fields and TOTAL would gladly carry out exploration activities if the government grants the licence.”

This recent visit was to underscore the seriousness of the Group to firm up talk with action while signalling the opening of new partnerships between TOTAL Group and Nigeria.