TotalEnergies has announced that its subsidiary, TotalEnergies Nigeria, has signed a Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) with Vaaris for the divestment of its 10% non-operated interest in the Renaissance Africa Energy Company JV licenses in Nigeria. This comes after a previous attempt to sell the same stake to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies Mauritius Limited (Chappal) Energies failed in 2025, when Nigerian regulators revoked approval due to Chappal's inability to meet financial commitments and close the $860 million deal despite initial regulatory clearance. In 2024 Chappal completed the $1.2 billion purchase of Equinor's onshore assets in 2024.
The bid process for this stake has spanned over three years, with Vaaris (previously the reserve bidder behind Chappal) ultimately prevailing after other interested parties, including SAPETRO and a consortium linked to Bayo Ogunlesi and Hakeem Belo-Osagie, did not secure the deal.
The Renaissance JV (formerly the SPDC JV) is an unincorporated joint venture comprising Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Ltd (55%), Renaissance Africa Energy Company Ltd (30%, operator), TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (10%), and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria (5%). It holds 18 licenses in the Niger Delta. Renaissance took over operatorship following acquisition of SPDC from Shell on March 13, 2025
Under the new agreement with Vaaris (a consortium of Nigerian oil and gas players, including marginal field operators and service providers, operating as Vaaris Resources JV Co Ltd):
- TotalEnergies EP Nigeria will sell its 10% participating interest and associated rights/obligations in 15 mainly oil-producing licenses to Vaaris. These contributed approximately 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in company share in 2025.
- It will also transfer its 10% participating interest in the three remaining mainly gas-producing licenses (OML 23, OML 28, and OML 77) to Vaaris, while TotalEnergies retains full economic interest in these assets, which supply about 50% of the feed gas for Nigeria LNG.
This move aligns with TotalEnergies' strategy to focus on offshore oil, gas, and LNG assets while reducing exposure to mature, onshore oil operations.
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