• Refocuses on gas, lower-cost assets
TotalEnergies has agreed to divest its 12.5 per cent non-operated interest in Nigeria’s deepwater Bonga Field under the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) for $510 million, in a move reflecting its broader portfolio shift towards low-cost, low-emission assets.
 
The transaction, announced yesterday as the agreement signed by its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (TEPNG) with SNEPCo, signals a strategic realignment by TotalEnergies, while doubling down on gas and operationally controlled offshore fields in Nigeria.
 
The company’s equity production from OML 118 stood at 11,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) in 2024, a marginal share compared to its overall 209,000 boe/d production in the country for the year.
 
OML 118 is operated by SNEPCo, which holds a majority interest of 55 per cent. Its joint venture partners include Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria with 20 per cent, Nigerian Agip Exploration with twelve and a half per cent, and TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, also with twelve and a half per cent.
 
Located approximately 120 kilometres off the Niger Delta, the Bonga Field began production in 2005, with Bonga North, a new phase, commencing development in 2024.
 
Speaking on the transaction, President of Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, Nicolas Terraz, said the move aligned with the company’s ongoing effort to “high-grade” its upstream portfolio, to focus on assets with low technical costs or low emissions, and to lower its cash breakeven.