Chappal Energies has successfully finalized the acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company, a subsidiary of Norway’s Equinor ASA.
The deal, first announced in 2023, was completed on December 6, 2025, following the confirmation of the sale by Equinor Nigeria on November 29, 2023.
The acquisition involves ENEC’s 54% stake in the OML 128 oil and gas lease, which includes a 20.2% interest in the Chevron-operated Agbami oil field and the operatorship of OML 129. The deal is valued at up to $1.2 billion, with $710 million as the purchase price and the remainder consisting of contingent payments.
With this acquisition, Chappal Energies takes control of all of Equinor Nigeria’s assets in the country, marking Equinor’s full exit from Nigeria. As part of the agreement, local employees will continue working under the new ownership. Nigerian regulators officially approved the deal in November 2024, although its completion was delayed by several months.
The acquisition was executed through Project Odinmim, a special-purpose vehicle owned by Chappal Energies. Rand Merchant Bank, a division of South Africa’s First Rand Bank, acted as the exclusive financial adviser to Chappal Energies throughout the transaction.
This sale follows Equinor’s decision to exit Nigeria after more than three decades of operations. The company, which began operations in Nigeria in 1992, had significant involvement in the development of the Agbami oil field, Nigeria’s largest deep-water oil field. Despite the field’s early success, production had been in decline in recent years, prompting Equinor to divest its stake. The company had invested over $3.5 billion for its 20.21% share in the field, which began production in 2008 and has since yielded over one billion barrels of oil.
Equinor’s decision to sell its Nigerian assets aligns with its strategy to streamline its international oil and gas portfolio and focus on more profitable and strategically aligned ventures.
