Total looks to Africa to fuel rise in output

Europe’s number three oil and gas company told investors yesterday that 70 per cent of the fields on which it is basing its forecast for the 2015-17 period are already either producing or in development.

Three of the projects that will help deliver the post-2015 surge are Egina (Nigeria), Kaombo (Angola) and Moho (Republic of Congo) – all west African projects in deep and ultra-deep water – an area where Total is a self-proclaimed specialist.

Total and other top oil firms like BP and Shell) are ramping up spending on exploration, often in relatively underdeveloped regions like Africa, to take advantage of the historically high price of oil, which averaged $113.6 a barrel in the first half of 2012, up 2 per cent on the year.

At its annual investor day in London, Total also announced it had joined the race to exploit the potentially huge resources offshore Mozambique in east Africa, where it already has operations in Uganda and Kenya.

Total said it had signed a so-called ‘farm-in’ deal with Petronas, the Malaysian state company, for a 40 per cent interest in a production sharing contract covering offshore blocks 3 and area 6 in the Rovuma Basin for an undisclosed sum.

Other blocks in Rovuma have delivered some very large gas finds for operators ENI and Anadarko.