The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has approved a $510 million 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 Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) recently said that TotalEnergies will transfer 10% of its interest to Shell at a cost of $408 million while Agip will pay $102 million for the remaining 2.5%.
The deal raises Shell’s stake in Bonga to 67.5%, further 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.
NNPC stated that due diligence was conducted 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,
Based on the presentations and documents submitted, there is a clear evidence that they have access to funding to meet their financial obligations,” NUPRC, Head, Media and Strategic Communications, Mr Eniola Akinkuotu confirmed via a press statement.
The deal, which is still subject to ministerial consent, requires SNEPco and NAE to assume all decommissioning, abandonment, and community liabilities connected to the divested interest. They are also expected to pay a combined 7% of the transaction value as premium and processing fees.
The NUPRC recently pulled approval for TotalEnergies’ $860 million asset sale to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies because both parties had yet to meet the financial commitments required to complete the deal.
