TotalEnergies said on Thursday it agreed to sell its 12.5 per cent stake in the Bonga oilfield offshore Nigeria to Shell, the field’s operator, for $510 million.
The deal for the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) will bring Shell’s stake in Bonga to 67.5 per cent and shows its continued interest in producing oil offshore Nigeria.
This comes after Shell sold its Nigerian onshore assets to Renaissance, a consortium of four local companies and an international energy group, for a reported value of $1.3 billion.
The asset is prone to spills and was haemorrhaging money for the oil major; yet, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) delayed in granting the necessary approvals.
In 2024, the owners of Bonga decided on an extension of the field to add 110,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day with the first oil expected to flow by the end of the decade.
Bonga’s floating production vessel has a capacity of 225,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.
“TotalEnergies continues to actively high-grade its Upstream portfolio, to focus on assets with low technical costs and low emissions, and to lower its cash breakeven” said Mr Nicolas Terraz, President Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies.
“In Nigeria, the Company is focusing on its operated gas and offshore oil assets and is currently progressing the development of Ubeta project, designed to sustain gas supply to Nigeria LNG,” he added in a statement on Thursday.
“This acquisition brings another significant investment in Nigeria deep-water that contributes to sustained liquids production and growth in our Upstream portfolio,” said Shell’s upstream chief Mr Peter Costello.
Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria, a subsidiary of Exxon, holds a 20 per cent stake in the Bonga field, while Agip, owned by Oando, controls 12.5 per cent. 2024.
The deal, subject to approvals, is expected to close by the end of the year.