TotalEnergies (Euronext Paris/LSE/NYSE: TTE) has agreed a $1.8bn investment from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) tied to some of the French energy major’s oil and gas infrastructure assets in Africa, the company said on September 18.

The precise legal structure of the transaction has not been disclosed. TotalEnergies describes it as a partnership agreement covering its interests in certain African oil and gas infrastructure assets. GIP, which is part of BlackRock, will make a $1.8bn capital contribution, in exchange for which TotalEnergies will make payments linked to the volumes passing through the infrastructure for up to 15 years.

The company has not said whether GIP will acquire an equity interest in the underlying assets, an interest in a dedicated holding vehicle or contractual rights to the future tariff stream. It has also not disclosed whether ownership or operational control of the infrastructure will change, nor identified the assets or African countries covered by the agreement.

“We are pleased to strengthen our relationship with GIP through this infrastructure agreement which crystallizes the value of some of our midstream infrastructure assets in Africa,” TotalEnergies Chief Financial Officer Jean-Pierre Sbraire said.

The arrangement resembles a 2021 agreement between TotalEnergies and GIP involving the Gladstone LNG project in Australia. Under that deal, GIP provided more than $750mn and obtained a 15-year volume-based tolling income stream, while TotalEnergies retained ownership and control of its 27.5% interest in the downstream joint venture. TotalEnergies continues to describe that structure as a tolling agreement.

The latest agreement comes as TotalEnergies continues to hold a substantial upstream and LNG footprint across Africa.

In Angola, where TotalEnergies is the country’s biggest oil operator, the company and its partners plan to invest about $10bn over the next five years. TotalEnergies also agreed in September to take 40% operated interests in two new Lower Congo Basin exploration blocks, while its Block 32 production licence, covering the Kaombo ultra-deepwater development, was extended until 2043 in May.

The planned $1.8bn contribution is therefore not investment in new African oil and gas infrastructure, but a monetisation arrangement involving interests in existing infrastructure assets.

Matéis Mouflet, market analyst at XTB, said the structure allows TotalEnergies to release capital while retaining operational use of the infrastructure, improving its financial flexibility for future investment. He said the additional liquidity could also support the company’s share-buyback programme. TotalEnergies shares were down 1.07% at €78.78 on Euronext Paris in morning trading on September 18, a move Mouflet attributed primarily to weaker crude prices rather than the GIP agreement.

The transaction also fits TotalEnergies’ wider portfolio-recycling strategy. The company completed $3.64bn of divestments in 2025, including the $510mn sale of its 12.5% interest in Nigeria’s offshore OML 118, which hosts the Bonga field.

GIP was acquired by BlackRock in 2024 and operates as the US asset manager’s infrastructure investment business. Its platform has more than $189bn in assets under management, according to BlackRock, spanning energy, transport, digital infrastructure, water and waste. TotalEnergies and GIP have previously partnered on energy infrastructure and renewable-energy transactions.