TotalEnergies, GIP Sign $1.8bn Deal for African Assets

TotalEnergies and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) have signed a partnership agreement under which GIP will invest $1.8 billion in some of the French energy major's oil and gas infrastructure assets in Africa, TotalEnergies said on Friday.

In exchange for the capital contribution, TotalEnergies will pay GIP a tariff over a period of up to 15 years, based on the throughput of the assets involved, a structure known as a tariff-based infrastructure deal that lets an investor earn returns tied to how much oil or gas flows through a facility rather than owning production directly.

TotalEnergies did not specify which of its African oil and gas infrastructure assets, typically midstream facilities such as pipelines, processing plants or export terminals, would be included in the agreement.

"We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with GIP through this infrastructure agreement which crystallizes the value of some of our midstream infrastructure assets in Africa," said Jean-Pierre Sbraire, chief financial officer of TotalEnergies.

Deal follows a wave of African investment

The agreement adds to a recent expansion of TotalEnergies' presence across African oil and gas, spanning Angola, Namibia and Uganda.

Earlier this month, the company said it had made a new discovery offshore Angola and acquired operated interests in two exploration blocks near existing production hubs, part of a broader return by international majors to Angolan waters to take advantage of infrastructure already in place.

The company added that its Acacia-5 discovery in Block 17 is on track to reach first oil just three months after being discovered in June 2026.

TotalEnergies has also expanded its exploration acreage offshore Namibia, adding territory north of a block where a major oil discovery has already been made, as it looks to build on activity in what has become one of the industry's newest exploration hotspots.

Last year, the company signed an agreement with Galp that formalised its operatorship over Namibia's two largest offshore discoveries, Mopane and Venus, through an asset swap that consolidated development control under TotalEnergies.

In Uganda, TotalEnergies and China's CNOOC are developing the Tilenga and Kingfisher oil fields, projects expected to make the landlocked country the world's newest crude oil exporter in early 2027 via the $5 billion East African Crude Oil Pipeline, which will carry crude from Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.

How much of the $1.8 billion GIP investment ultimately flows into Uganda's pipeline infrastructure, Angola's export facilities, or other undisclosed assets is likely to become clearer as the partnership moves forward, given TotalEnergies has not yet named the specific assets involved.