After Shell, French Oil Company Announces Plan To Sell its Onshore Oil Business In Nigeria
- TotalEnergies has announced plans to withdraw from Nigeria's onshore sector after decades of operations
- Other international oil companies to have sold their assets in Nigeria in recent years are Exxon Mobil XOM.N Eni ENI.MI and Norway's Equinor EQNR.OL
- TotalEnergies is a multinational energy company that has been a leader in the Nigerian oil and gas industry for over 50 years
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of experience covering tech, energy, stocks, investments, and the economy.
French energy giant TotalEnergies appears to be following in Shell's footsteps and has announced plans to exit from Nigeria's onshore oil business.
Onshore oil and gas refers to the extraction and production of oil and natural gas from reservoirs located on land, whole offshore is the development of oil fields and natural gas deposits under the ocean.
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Total Energies to sell oil shore business
TotalEnergies' decision to sell comes less than a month after Shell sold its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), to a consortium of five companies based in Nigeria and one in Switzerland for up to £2.4 billion.
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Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, who disclosed the plans to sell, said:
"We want to divest our share of SPDC, and we are looking to reshape the portfolio, “Fundamentally it’s because producing this oil in the Niger Delta is not in line with our [Health, Security and Environmental] policies, it’s a real difficulty.”
Pouyanne also noted that the company would keep its Nigerian gas resources, which he described as crucial for its planned expansion of liquefied natural gas development in the coming years.
Total Energies operation in Nigeria
Total Energies is active in Nigeria in oil and gas exploration and production, natural gas liquefaction, and retail activities.
The company's employee count in Nigeria is estimated to be over 1,600, with approximately 540 service stations in the country.
Nigeria attracts $5bn investment from Shell
Legit.ng earlier reported that Shell reiterated its commitment to investing $5 billion in offshore oil investment opportunities in Nigeria.
In addition, the global group of energy and petrochemical companies pledged to spend a further $1 billion in five to 10 years to boost natural gas output for domestic supplies and exports.
According to a Reuters report, a presidential spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, made the announcement.
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Source: Legit.ng
