French energy giants Total Energies on Thursday said that it will soon exit Nigeria’s onshore oil field.
The French oil giant announced plans to sell its minority stake in a Nigerian oil joint venture, joining the exodus of supermajors from onshore fields in Africa’s largest crude producer, per Bloomberg report.
Patrick Pouyanne, the CEO of Total Energies, said the French oil giant will sell off its 10 per cent investment in a business that has 20 onshore and shallow water permits in Nigeria. This comes as Shell Plc; the license operator is considering offers from four local companies for its 30 percent ownership in the company.
According to Mr Pouyanne, disruption of local communities is a source of great concern in the country.
For over a decade, oil majors have been selling onshore and shallow water properties to Nigerian independent producers. In February, Exxon Mobil agreed to sell off its Nigerian assets to Seplat Energy Plc for at least $1.28 billion.
International companies are thought to be concentrating on deep-water areas in order to avoid the difficulties of operating in close proximity to local inhabitants.
The oil companies’ increasing disengagement comes at a time when the country is failing to achieve its OPEC quota.
The withdrawal of major oil companies from joint ventures with the Nigerian government is becoming an issue of great concern as Nigeria still relies heavily on oil exploration to fund its economy.
