By Ajong Mbapndah L*
For close to a century, TotalEnergies has been part of Africa’s energy evolution — but 2025 marked a turning point. Across strategic exploration in Angola, powerful youth engagement in Uganda, and thought leadership during African Energy Week in Cape Town, the company demonstrated not only renewed commitment, but a deeper, more inclusive partnership model anchored in sustainability, skills and regional development.
In an exclusive interview with Pan African Visions on the sidelines of the AEW in Cape Town, South Africa, Mike Sangster, Senior Vice President Africa for TotalEnergies, summed up the company’s African philosophy clearly:
“Africa is not a frontier for us. It is central to our identity and our strategy. If the world speaks of an energy future, Africa must be at the heart of it.”
The events of 2025 proved those words true.
Cape Town: Where Totalenergies Called Africa “The Heart Of The Global Energy Future”
African Energy Week (AEW) 2025 in Cape Town set the tone for the year. Amid global energy uncertainties and geopolitical shifts, TotalEnergies took a bold, unambiguous position: Africa must be empowered to lead its own energy transition and industrialisation agenda.
Sangster’s message at the summit resonated across the sector.
“Nearly half of our global exploration budget is now dedicated to Africa,” he explained. “We see immense geological potential, but equally important, immense human potential. The future of energy — globally — cannot be written without this continent.”
He stressed that the company’s multi-energy approach reflects African realities: rising electricity demand, industrial expansion, and ongoing reliance on hydrocarbons alongside fast-growing renewable platforms.
Renewables featured prominently in TotalEnergies’ African strategy at AEW. The company now has more than 1.1 GW of renewable projects under construction or operation across several countries, including solar farms in North Africa, hybrid power solutions in West Africa and wind energy developments in Southern Africa.
But AEW also highlighted a shift in narrative. Africa was no longer a place where global firms dictated the energy agenda. Instead, the continent asserted itself as a co-architect of global energy discourse.
Energy thought leader NJ Ayuk, Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, underscored this shift, telling PAV:
“TotalEnergies listens. They invest. They hire. They build. In many ways, they have pushed other companies to raise their game. Africa benefits when companies operate not as extractors, but as long-term partners — and TotalEnergies is leading that change.”
Angola: New Exploration, New Production, New Confidence
If Cape Town was where the vision was articulated, Angola was where it was executed.
In 2025, TotalEnergies reinforced its position as Angola’s most influential energy partner. During the Angola Oil & Gas conference, the company committed to drilling one exploration well every year, a strategy designed to mitigate natural decline in mature offshore fields and unlock new reserves.
This was not rhetoric — it was already being put into action. Two major offshore projects moved decisively forward:
CLOV Phase 3
A critical tie-back expansion revitalizing one of Angola’s most productive deepwater assets, boosting output and extending field life.
Begonia Field
Entering production in 2025, the field delivered new barrels and fresh momentum into Angola’s upstream portfolio.
Kaminho Project (Kwanza Basin)
After its FID in 2024, Kaminho remained on track in 2025, marking a symbolic return to frontier deepwater exploration in the Kwanza Basin.
For Angola, this is more than an oil project — it is a new industrial anchor. Sangster emphasized this point:
“Angola remains one of our most strategic countries. Our commitment is long-term, and our goal is to support Angola’s energy ambitions while deepening local participation at every stage.”
This local participation was visible in 2025. TotalEnergies expanded vocational training, enhanced scholarships, and made headline news by deploying its first woman field manager on key offshore assets — a milestone celebrated across Angola’s corporate and civil society networks.
Uganda: Youth, Transition & A Future Built On Capacity
While Angola showcased technical excellence, Uganda reflected the human face of TotalEnergies’ African engagement.
2025 was the year the company turned the spotlight on youth empowerment as part of the broader energy transition conversation. In Kampala, at a high-profile youth-focused energy forum, Marieme-Sav Sow, Vice President of Engagement & Advocacy at TotalEnergies, delivered one of the year’s most compelling messages.
Speaking to hundreds of young Ugandans, she declared:
“There is no energy transition in Africa without young Africans. You are not tomorrow’s leaders — you are leaders today. Our responsibility is to equip, train and support you to drive the continent’s energy future.”
The Uganda engagement emphasized training, internships, environmental stewardship, entrepreneurship support, and leadership development for students and early-career professionals.
The programs are closely tied to Uganda’s major energy projects, including Tilenga and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP). While both projects attract global attention, TotalEnergies used 2025 to reinforce its commitment to high environmental standards and inclusive development.
The messaging was clear: Africa’s transition cannot simply be imported; it must be co-created with Africans.
The Year Africa’s Energy Narrative Shifted
Across all three countries — Angola, Uganda and South Africa — 2025 revealed how TotalEnergies operates on the continent.
It was a year in which policy, production, people and partnerships converged.
In AEW’s panel discussions, industry leaders repeatedly pointed out that Africa requires a balanced pathway that keeps energy affordable, supports industrialization, and reduces emissions. TotalEnergies embraced this view, placing gas at the center of its transition strategy for Africa. Gas-fired power, LNG logistics, LPG penetration and hybrid energy systems formed key pillars of the company’s approach.
For NJ Ayuk, this balance is essential.
“What Africa needs is energy that is reliable, accessible and abundant,” he told PAV. “TotalEnergies is demonstrating that you can invest in oil, support gas, expand renewables, and still champion African development. This is what an energy transition that works for Africa looks like.”
The company’s strategy appeared to strike a chord across African governments, youth networks, and private sector players.
A Future Of Shared Prosperity
As 2025 ends, the story of TotalEnergies in Africa is far from complete. Exploration in Angola will widen in 2026. Renewable projects in North Africa and Southern Africa are scheduled to come online. Youth programming in Uganda is expected to scale regionally. And the company’s footprint in the African gas sector is growing rapidly.
But perhaps the most significant development is the shift in the character of the African relationship. TotalEnergies is no longer seen merely as a multinational operating in Africa — but as a partner investing with Africans.
Sangster captured the spirit of the year in one of his most memorable comments to Pan African Visions:
“Africa’s success is our success. The continent’s energy future is a shared responsibility — and we intend to walk that journey with African countries, hand in hand.”
2025 reinforced that pledge. And the continent — from the Atlantic to the Great Lakes to the Cape — will be watching closely as this partnership enters its next chapter.
*Culled from December Issue of PAV Magazine
