TotalEnergies has announced the sale of its participation stake in three gas-producing licenses to a Mauritian company.
The facilities currently contribute 40% of Nigeria’s LNG production.
However, TotalEnergies will retain ownership of its production share, ensuring continued access to the infrastructure and pipelines necessary 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 TotalEnergies has hinted at plans to divest its 10% stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), citing challenges such as oil spills, theft, and operational issues. These challenges have required significant rehabilitation funds and have resulted in high-profile lawsuits, according to a Reuters report.
The acquisition is pending regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Despite this divestment, TotalEnergies reaffirmed its commitment to Nigeria last year by announcing a $6 billion (5.5 billion euros) investment plan for the nation’s oil and energy sector, focusing on gas and offshore projects.
Nigeria accounts for 8-10% of TotalEnergies’ global production and over 18% of its global investments. In 2023, the company produced 219,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in Nigeria.
However, after several decades of operations, TotalEnergies joins other foreign oil companies in exiting Nigeria’s onshore market.
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