TotalEnergies has disclosed that it has sold its participation stake in three additional licenses primarily generating gas, which presently contributes 40% of Nigeria’s LNG production, to a Mauritian company.
Despite the divestment, TotalEnergies will retain ownership of the production share, ensuring access to associated infrastructure and pipelines essential for supplying gas to the Nigeria LNG plant.
“This divestment…allows us to concentrate our onshore Nigeria operations solely on the integrated gas value chain and is intended to ensure uninterrupted feed gas supply to Nigeria LNG in the future,” said Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
Since February, the CEO of the French group has hinted at plans to divest its 10% stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), citing various challenges the company faced, including oil spills, theft, and operational issues.
According to a report by Reuters, these challenges necessitated significant funds for rehabilitation and resulted in high-profile lawsuits.
The completion of the acquisition is subject to regulatory approvals and is expected by the end of this year.
Last year, TotalEnergies reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria by announcing a $6 billion (5.5 billion euros) investment plan spread over several years in the nation’s oil and energy sector, with a particular emphasis on gas and offshore projects.
Nigeria constitutes between eight to ten percent of TotalEnergies’ global production and contributes over eighteen percent to its global investments. In 2023 alone, the company produced 219,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Nigeria.
However, after several decades of operations, TotalEnergies is the latest foreign oil company to exit Nigeria’s onshore market.
