Total Joins Exodus of Oil Majors from Onshore Nigeria

TotalEnergies SE will put up for sale its minority stake in a Nigerian oil joint venture, joining the exodus of supermajors from onshore fields in Africa’s largest crude producer.

The French energy giant would look to offload its 10 per cent interest in a firm that holds 20 onshore and shallow water permits in the West African country, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on a conference call Thursday.
Shell Plc, the operator of the licenses, was already considering bids from four local firms for its 30 per cent shareholding in the company, Bloomberg reported.

Oil majors have been selling onshore and shallow water assets to Nigerian independent producers for more than a decade. That process is accelerating, with Exxon Mobil Corporation agreeing in February to sell some of its Nigerian assets to Seplat Energy Plc for at least $1.28 billion.

International firms want to focus on deep-water fields away from the difficulties of operating in close proximity with local communities. Total also operates four other onshore and shallow water licenses in Nigeria.

“Disruption of local communities are sources of great concerns” in the country, TotalEnergies Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said during the conference .

The other shareholders in the joint venture are the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), which holds the majority stake, and Eni SpA, which has yet to reveal if it intends to sell its interest.

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