LAGOS: – Nigeria’s oil regulator has approved a $510 million deal by TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), opens new tab 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 (SHEL.L), opens new tab, and Agip (ENI.MI), opens new tab, the agency said on Thursday.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) stated that TotalEnergies will transfer 10% of its interest to Shell for $408 million, while Agip will pay $102 million for the remaining 2.5%.
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 stated that it conducted due diligence on Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) to verify their competence to operate the asset.
“SNEPco and NAE have demonstrated both technical and managerial competence to contribute to the upstream operations in OML 118 optimally,” 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 on Tuesday pulled approval for TotalEnergies’ $860 million asset sale to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies because the two sides had not met the financial commitments required to complete the deal.