Sintana Energy’s exposure to Namibia’s Mopane discovery has moved into a more defined development phase after TotalEnergies completed its acquisition of a 40% operated interest in Petroleum Exploration Licence 83.
TotalEnergies has taken over operatorship of PEL 83 from Galp. Galp retains a 40% interest, NAMCOR holds 10% and Custos Energy holds 10%. Sintana owns an indirect 49% interest in Custos, giving it an effective 4.9% interest in the licence.
The ownership structure leaves Sintana’s economic exposure unchanged, but the change of operator matters. TotalEnergies is now responsible for advancing the appraisal programme and assessing the commercial development of Mopane.
Mopane has an estimated 3C resource of approximately 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent, based on the figures cited in the source material. TotalEnergies plans to begin a three-well exploration and appraisal campaign in the fourth quarter of 2026. Those wells are the next major catalyst for the project. They are expected to test the scale and quality of the resource, improve understanding of the reservoirs and help determine the most suitable development plan.
The current timetable targets a final investment decision for the first phase of Mopane in 2028, with first oil targeted for 2032. These dates remain subject to appraisal results, technical work and future commercial decisions, but they provide a clearer timeline for assessing when the project could move from discovery towards production.
For Sintana, the structure offers exposure to that potential progress without requiring the company to operate the project directly. TotalEnergies will lead the technical work, drilling and development planning, while Sintana retains its indirect participation through Custos.
Sintana Energy Inc (TSX-V:SEI, OTCQX:SEUSF) is a public oil and natural gas exploration company listed on the Toronto Venture Exchange.
