TotalEnergies to sell 12.5% stake in OML118 to Shell for $510m

By : Guardian Nigeria

Date: 29 May 2025

(FILES) This photograph taken on October 5, 2022, shows a logo of Total Energies at a gas station in Genech, northern France. - French oil and gas major TotalEnergies announced on February 7, 2024 a net income of $21.4 billion (19.8 billion euros) for 2023, a new record after the extraordinary year of 2022. (Photo by Sameer Al-DOUMY / AFP)

TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has agreed to sell its 12.5 percent stake in the OML118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd for $510 million.

The announcement was made by TotalEnergies on Thursday, outlining that the subsidiary’s interest in the contract is non-operated.

OML118 PSC, located approximately 120 kilometers south of the Niger Delta, includes the Bonga field, which began production in 2005, and the Bonga North field, which started development in 2024.

The production from OML118 PSC is primarily oil, with TotalEnergies’ share representing about 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024.

The consortium managing OML118 PSC includes Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (55 percent, operator), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (20 percent), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (12.5 percent), and Nigerian Agip Exploration (12.5 percent).

The transaction is pending customary conditions, including regulatory approvals, according to TotalEnergies.

Nicolas Terraz, President of Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, said the company will concentrate on assets with lower technical costs and emissions while working to reduce its cash breakeven.

Terraz noted that TotalEnergies is prioritising its operated gas and offshore oil assets, specifically advancing the Ubeta project to support ongoing gas supply to Nigeria LNG.

“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,” Terraz stated.

“The company is focusing on its operated gas and offshore oil assets and is currently progressing the development of the Ubeta project, designed to sustain gas supply to Nigeria LNG.”