TotalEnergies and Chevron are preparing new offshore drilling and appraisal campaigns in Nigeria, underlining renewed interest in West Africa’s deepwater oil and gas sector.
According to Meren Energy, drilling and intervention work at the Akpo and Egina fields is moving toward restart after a pause in 2025. Efforts to secure a deepwater drilling rig are progressing, with mobilization targeted for the second half of 2026.
The planned campaign is expected to begin with the Akpo Far East exploration well before additional drilling resumes at Akpo and Egina. Production from the new wells is anticipated in early 2027. Intervention programs on selected existing wells are also being prepared to help maintain production ahead of the broader drilling schedule.
Meren Energy said Akpo Far East could be developed through a connection to existing Akpo infrastructure if exploration results are successful. The prospect holds an unrisked best-estimate gross resource of 143.6 million boe, equivalent to around 23.0 million boe net to the company’s 16% working interest.
Across PMLs 2/3, reservoir management and infill well evaluations continue at both Akpo and Egina. In PML 4, subsurface studies and updated resource assessments for Preowei continued into the first quarter of 2026 as work advances toward a possible FID.
At Egina South, appraisal drilling is planned during 2026 on the extension of the discovery within OPL 257. The discovery is located close to existing Egina FPSO infrastructure, which may support future development activity.
Separately, Chevron is progressing work at PML 52, Agbami, and PPL 2003, Ikija. The next drilling phase is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2026 with the Ikija appraisal well. Agbami has also been recovering following its planned maintenance campaign in the fourth quarter of 2025, while six infill wells remain scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
Meren Energy said Nigeria’s upstream reforms and regulatory measures continue to support offshore investment activity. The company pointed to Shell’s $20.0 billion Bonga Southwest project and ExxonMobil’s $8.0 billion Owowo deepwater project as indicators of renewed momentum in the country’s offshore sector.
