TotalEnergies announces plans to exit Nigeria’s onshore business

French oil giant, TotalEnergies, has announced plans to sell its minority stake in a significant Nigerian onshore oil joint venture, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).

The company would join the league of foreign oil companies exiting the Nigerian oil market after operating in the market for over 60 years.

Patrick Pouyanne, CEO of TotalEnergies, disclosed this during a presentation of the company’s financial results.

Pouyanne said the company, which holds 10 per cent interest in SPDC, is looking to restructure its portfolio since producing oil in the Niger Delta has become difficult.

The company noted that it is retaining its Nigerian gas assets, considering them essential for its expansion in liquefied natural gas development over the upcoming years.

“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,” it said.

Shell had in January announced a plan to sell its 30 per cent stake in SPDC to Renaissance, a consortium of five companies based in Nigeria and an international energy group, for up to $2.4 billion.