TotalEnergies has agreed a US$1.8 billion capital contribution from Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP), the infrastructure investment platform owned by BlackRock, in a transaction involving some of the French energy company’s oil and gas infrastructure interests in Africa.
Under the agreement, GIP will provide the capital in return for throughput-based tariff payments from TotalEnergies over a period of up to 15 years. The companies have not disclosed the individual assets or countries covered by the arrangement.
The structure gives TotalEnergies access to upfront capital linked to infrastructure that generates revenue from the movement of oil and gas, while GIP receives payments tied to the volume transported through the relevant facilities. TotalEnergies Chief Financial Officer Jean-Pierre Sbraire said the agreement would strengthen the relationship between the two companies and recognise the value of some of the group’s midstream infrastructure assets in Africa.
The transaction is significant in the context of how large infrastructure projects across Africa are being financed. Rather than relying solely on conventional project debt or shareholder capital, infrastructure assets with established or anticipated long-term cash flows can provide another route to mobilise private capital. The commercial terms of the TotalEnergies-GIP agreement, however, have not been publicly detailed beyond the US$1.8 billion contribution and the potential 15-year tariff period.
TotalEnergies has extensive interests in African energy projects, including the Lake Albert oil development in Uganda and the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which is being developed to transport crude from Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga. TotalEnergies holds a 62% stake in EACOP, alongside Uganda National Oil Company, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation and China’s CNOOC.
The GIP agreement should not, however, be characterised as financing for EACOP. TotalEnergies has not stated that the pipeline forms part of the assets covered by the transaction.
EACOP has developed its own financing structure. In March 2025, the pipeline company announced the closure of its first external financing tranche involving African Export-Import Bank, Standard Bank of South Africa, Stanbic Bank Uganda, KCB Bank Uganda and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector. The project illustrates the growing role of African financial institutions in funding major cross-border infrastructure alongside international capital.
The Uganda-Tanzania project has also generated debate over environmental impacts, land acquisition and the distribution of economic benefits. TotalEnergies maintains that the development is subject to environmental and social standards and reports significant local spending and employment associated with construction. Independent critics and civil-society organisations have raised concerns over environmental and community impacts.
For African energy markets, the broader significance of the GIP transaction lies in the increasing financialisation of infrastructure itself. The agreement demonstrates how established energy infrastructure can be treated as an investable asset capable of attracting long-term institutional capital, while the absence of disclosure on the underlying assets leaves important questions about the geographical and operational scope of the transaction unanswered.
