TotalEnergies has announced plans to drill two additional deepwater exploration wells in 2027, the Deputy Managing Director of TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited, Engr. Victor Bandele, has said.

He spoke in Lagos during a panel session on “Policy in Practice: Aligning Fiscal Strategy, Foreign Investment, and Local Content for Sustainable Growth in Nigeria,” at the 2026 Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE 2026) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

Bandele emphasised that attracting capital remains a fiercely competitive exercise, adding that every upstream project in Nigeria competes directly for funding with developments elsewhere on the continent.

He stated that improvements in Nigeria’s investment climate have strengthened operators’ ability to secure shareholder approvals for exploration and development spending.

He said: “This year, TotalEnergies is drilling an exploration well, and we plan to drill two additional deepwater exploration wells in 2027.

“My projects are evaluated alongside those in Namibia, Uganda and Angola. To secure funding, Nigeria must remain competitive.

“When the country’s outlook improves, investors become more willing to commit capital. Our partners’ willingness to invest depends heavily on the health of the investment environment, and today Nigeria is perceived to be in a much healthier position than it was a few years ago.”

Recall that for almost eight years after the Egina project achieved first oil in 2018, Nigeria did not bring another major deepwater development into production, despite possessing some of Africa’s largest offshore reserves.

“I often speak about Akpo, which is still producing more than 17 years after it came on stream. I also speak about Egina, the last major deep offshore project executed in Nigeria.

“Since first oil in 2018, we have not brought another deepwater project on stream. That tells the story of how barren the deepwater landscape has been,” Bandele said.

“The improved incentives have translated into sanctioned projects, and those projects are now moving towards delivery. This is exactly the trend we have been hoping to see in Nigeria,” he said.

Bandele opined that the introduction of improved incentives for gas projects between 2023 and 2024 has begun to reverse that trend.

According to him, TotalEnergies sanctioned the Ubeta gas project in 2024, with production expected next year, while work is progressing towards a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ima project, targeted for first production in 2028.

Bandele argued that the country’s local content policy has evolved beyond regulatory compliance into a commercial imperative.

He said the Ubeta project is one of TotalEnergies’ strongest examples of indigenous participation, with numerous Nigerian companies executing critical portions of the development.

He urged indigenous contractors to prepare for a new investment cycle as more projects move toward Final Investment Decisions.

“There is simply no way to develop these projects profitably without strong Nigerian participation. Certain goods and services can no longer be imported. The quality delivered by Nigerian companies will determine the profitability of many of these projects,” he said.

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