TotalEnergies exits Bonga oilfield: Shell and Agip boost stakes
Nigeria's oil regulator has approved a $510m deal by TotalEnergies to sell its entire 12.5% interest in oil mining lease (OML) 118, which hosts the offshore Bonga oilfield, to the field's operator Shell and Agip, the agency said. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said TotalEnergies will transfer 10% of its interest to Shell for $408m, while Agip will pay $102m for the remaining 2.5%.
Image credit: Zbynek Burival on Unsplash
The deal raises Shell's stake in Bonga to 67.5%, highlighting its continued interest in offshore Nigeria production after selling its spill-plagued onshore assets to Renaissance, a consortium of four local companies and an international energy group.
The regulator said it conducted due diligence on Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPco) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) to confirm their competence to operate the asset.
"SNEPco and NAE have demonstrated both technical and managerial competence to optimally contribute to the upstream operations in OML 118," it said.
The deal, which remains subject to ministerial consent, requires SNEPco and NAE to assume all decommissioning, abandonment, and community liabilities tied to the divested interest. They will also pay a combined 7% of the transaction value as a premium and processing fees.
The NUPRC pulled approval for TotalEnergies' $860m asset sale to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies because the two sides had not met the financial commitments required to complete the deal.
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Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha and ElishaEditing by Leslie Adler, Franklin Paul and Marguerita Choy