The Angolan National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency (ANPG), TotalEnergies and partners in Block 17/06 decided on the investment for the Begonia Development Area, in the Lower Congo maritime basin, about 150 kilometers off the coast.

According to an ANPG note, the Begonia reservoir will be developed through five subsea wells, of which three production wells and two water injection wells, connected to the FPSO [Floating Production, Storage and Transfer Unit] Pazflor floating production, storage and offloading unit, in production since 2011 in Block 17.

The document points out that the first oil, expected in the first half of 2025, will increase FPSO Pazflor's production by about 30,000 barrels of oil per day.

"Begonia is the second project operated by TotalEnergies in Angola to benefit from innovative engineering and a new contractual framework for the standardization of the Subsea Production System, capable of reducing costs by 20% and accelerating the procurement process," the note stresses.

The president of the ANPG Board of Directors, Paulino Jerónimo, quoted in the note, considered Begonia's final investment decision "fundamental to sustain production in Angola, optimizing existing assets and resources.

"The national concessionaire will continue to do everything so that the operators and their partners have the best opportunities to expand and increase their activity in our country and to contribute to the increased productivity and efficiency of our oil sector," said Paulino Jerónimo.

For his part, the General Director of TotalEnergies in Angola, Olivier Jouny, stressed that "this first subsea development of inter-block connection will maximize the use of Pazflor's infrastructure, reducing costs and carbon intensity, in line with TotalEnergies' strategy.

"In this emblematic block, TotalEnergies shows its leadership in deepwater at low cost (less than $20 [€18.6] per barrel), thanks to the standardization of subsea equipment," he said.

Olivier Jouny stressed that "this final investment decision precedes the expected signing of the concession for the Quilemba solar power plant, in Lubango, evidencing TotalEnergies' bet and multi-energy development in Angola".

With an investment of 850 million dollars, the development project will involve 1.3 million man-hours of work, of which 70% will be executed in Angola, mainly in the Luanda industrial base, and offshore.

TotalEnergies operates Block 17/06, with a stake of 30%, together with Sonangol P&P (20%), SSI (27.5%), Somoil (10%), ACREP (5%) Falcon Oil (5%) and PTTEP (2.5%) (Lusa)