TotalEnergies SE said lifting its stake in two Namibian oil blocks is a “key step” toward developing the Venus field off the coast of the southwest African nation.

Starting in 2022, TotalEnergies and Shell Plc made large finds in the waters off Namibia, raising hopes of transforming the economy of the sparsely populated country.

TotalEnergies has agreed to acquire an extra 10.5% interest in block 2913B, which contains the Venus discovery, from Impact Oil & Gas Ltd., raising its share to 45.25%, the company said in a statement Wednesday. The French energy giant will also buy an additional 9.4% stake in block 2912.

This “represents a key step toward the development of Venus by consolidating the partnership and securing financing of all partners which will add value to all stakeholders,” TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said in the statement.

Impact, 81%-owned by Africa Oil Corp. and Hosken Consolidated Investments Limited, will be reimbursed for past costs through a $99 million payment. It will retain a 9.5% share in each license, and will get loans from Total to pay for future exploration expenses until it receives the first production proceeds.

TotalEnergies said it plans to share its additional interest with its strategic partner and joint venture member QatarEnergy. National Petroleum Corp. of Namibia also holds stakes in the blocks.

Jefferies International acted as financial advisor to Impact on the deal, while Africa Oil was advised by Evercore.

In a separate statement on Wednesday, Portuguese explorer Galp Energia SGPS SA said it found a “significant column” of light oil in a license area near the Shell and Total discoveries. Drilling operations will move to explore deeper targets and then relocate to another site to evaluate the extent of the discovery, according to Galp.