Galp shares fell 11.85% on the Lisbon stock exchange after announcing that it had reached an agreement with French company Total on an oil exploration project in Mopane, Namibia.
At 12:25 (Lisbon time) the Portuguese oil company’s shares stood at 15.28 euros per share, having reached 14.67 euros per share since the beginning of the session.
This development comes after the Portuguese oil company reported that it had reached an agreement with TotalEnergies for it to acquire a 40% stake in its project in Mopane, Namibia, in exchange for a 10% stake and a 9.4% stake in the French oil company’s projects in the African country.
Galp said on Monday that it had chosen TotalEnergies as a partner to “jointly operate and develop the Mopane discovery through an exchange of assets”.
With this exchange, Galp transfers half of the stake it held in Petroleum Exploration License No. 83 (PEL 83).
The Portuguese oil company highlights that the acquisition of shares in the French counterpart’s portfolio contributes to its expansion in the Orange offshore basin, in Namibia.
The two companies also committed to launching an exploration and evaluation campaign of at least three wells over the next two years “to further reduce the risk of the block and potentially unlock a development center”, with the first potential well being evaluated for 2026.
The president of the Board of Directors of Galp, Paula Amorim, said that the company is “happy to establish a partnership with TotalEnergies”, considering that it is a “highly experienced operator in ultra-deep waters” and thus “significantly reduces the risks of Mopane”.
The agreement is subject to approval by the Government, regulatory entities and joint-venture partners, and is expected to be concluded next year.