Mike Sangster, TotalEnergies’ senior vice-president for Africa exploration and production, is set to use the Invest in African Energy Forum in Paris on April 22 and 23 to underline how strongly the French energy major is leaning on Africa for its next phase of growth, with projects stretching from Uganda and Mozambique to Angola, Congo, Namibia and Nigeria moving at different speeds but forming one of the company’s densest regional pipelines. The forum organiser says Africa accounts for roughly half of TotalEnergies’ operated output and takes the largest share of its exploration budget, making Sangster’s appearance more than a conference engagement and closer to a progress report on one of the company’s most important theatres. That matters because 2026 is shaping up as a year in which earlier exploration wins, delayed megaprojects and gas-led developments begin to converge. TotalEnergies has told investors it expects African volumes to recover as new production comes on stream, while the company continues to present the continent as a core source of low-cost, long-cycle and, in its view, lower-emission barrels and gas supply. Sangster has been at the centre of that messaging in company statements tied to Angola, Nigeria and Congo, where management has stressed tie-backs, gas monetisation and existing infrastructure as a way to limit costs while lifting output.
Mozambique remains one of the most closely watched pieces of that strategy. In January, Mozambique and TotalEnergies agreed to relaunch construction on the long-delayed $20 billion Mozambique LNG project after the 2021 security crisis in Cabo Delgado forced work to stop. Chief executive Patrick Pouyanné said the company is targeting first LNG by 2029 and signalled a sharp rise in activity, with offshore infrastructure work already beginning. For investors and policymakers alike, the restart is significant because the project’s planned 13 million tonnes a year of LNG capacity would place Mozambique more firmly on the global gas map, even as questions persist over security, project costs and how widely the economic benefits will spread.
East Africa offers a different test case. Uganda’s Tilenga oil project and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline are moving closer to production after years of financing, legal and activist pressure. Reuters reported in March that the 1,443-kilometre pipeline to Tanzania’s port of Tanga was 80% complete, with commercial oil production expected in the second half of 2026. TotalEnergies describes Tilenga as a six-field development involving around 400 wells, while company materials continue to frame it as the foundation of Uganda’s first oil era. Yet the project remains one of the group’s most contested assets, with campaigners and affected communities continuing to raise concerns over land rights, livelihoods, biodiversity and emissions.
TotalEnergies has tried to answer part of that criticism by publishing project indicators and independent social-performance material. A company-backed advisory report released late last year said it assessed land acquisition, resettlement and livelihood restoration tied to Tilenga, while TotalEnergies’ Uganda-facing publications say social and environmental measures have been built into project delivery. Critics are unlikely to view company-commissioned reporting as the final word, but its publication shows how the group is trying to protect its licence to operate as scrutiny intensifies in European courts and among climate advocates.
Southern Africa, meanwhile, is turning into a longer-range growth story. In Namibia, Reuters reported in February that TotalEnergies and Petrobras had each taken a 42.5% stake in a new offshore licence, adding to TotalEnergies’ already substantial position in a basin transformed by major discoveries. The company is pursuing Venus as a potential first producing development and has also strengthened its exposure around Mopane. Investor documents indicate management is working towards a final investment decision on Venus in 2026, with first oil targeted for 2030, while Reuters has previously reported pressure from the company for fiscal terms and incentives that would help contain development costs.
Elsewhere, the portfolio is broadening rather than narrowing. In Angola, TotalEnergies announced the start-up of the Quiluma field under the New Gas Consortium, calling it the country’s first non-associated gas development and saying plateau production should reach about 330 million cubic feet a day, equivalent to roughly 2 million tonnes of LNG a year. In Nigeria, Sangster has highlighted the Ubeta gas development as a low-cost, lower-emission supply source for Nigeria LNG, built around existing infrastructure and supported by electrification and a small solar plant. Congo also remains central, with the forum organiser pointing to a $500 million commitment to new Moho Nord wells in 2025 aimed at adding 40,000 barrels a day.
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