Africa Oil Signs Deal With TotalEnergies, QatarEnergy For Orange Basin Block 3B/4B

(RTTNews) - Africa Oil Corp. (AOI.TO) announced Wednesday a strategic farm down agreement signed with units of TotalEnergies SE (TTE) and QatarEnergy for the Orange Basin Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa. Maximum transaction value is up to $46.8 million to Africa Oil.

On completion of the transaction, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, the operatorship of Block 3B/4B will transfer to TotalEnergies

Africa Oil's unit Africa Oil SA Corp. or AOSAC has entered into the agreement with TotalEnergies EP South Africa B.V. and QatarEnergy International E&P LLC. Africa Oil has entered the deal jointly with its partners Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas Limited and Ricocure (Proprietary) Ltd, through their respective subsidiaries.

In the deal, Africa Oil will receive, subject to achieving certain milestones, staged payments for a total cash amount of $10 million, of which $3.3 million is payable at completion. The remaining balance in two successive payments conditional upon achievement of key operational and regulatory milestones.

Through AOSAC, the company currently has an operated 26.25% interest in Block 3B/4B. Eco holds a 20% interest and Ricocure a 53.75% interest.

On the deal closure, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, Africa Oil will retain a 17% interest. The remaining interests in Block 3B/4B will be comprised of 33% held by TotalEnergies, 24% held by QatarEnergy, 19.75% held by Ricocure, and 6.25% held by Eco.

Africa Oil Chief Executive Officer, Dr Roger Tucker, said, "Attracting TotalEnergies and QatarEnergy as our new partners in Block 3B/4B is an endorsement of the exploration potential of the block. These opportunities are on trend with the discoveries in Namibia's Orange Basin, including Venus in Block 2913B. Both companies have deep geological knowledge of the basin with successful nearby discoveries. TotalEnergies, as the new operator, also brings extensive deepwater drilling and development expertise."