The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has approved a Sales Purchase Agreement (SPA) allowing TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited to transfer its entire 12.5 per cent contractor interest in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE).
Under the deal, TotalEnergies will assign 10 per cent of its stake to SNEPCo for $408 million, while NAE will acquire the remaining 2.5 per cent for $102 million.
NUPRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, said on Thursday that the commission had verified the technical and financial capacity of both companies in line with Section 95 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021.
According to the statement, SNEPCo and NAE will take on TotalEnergies’ decommissioning, abandonment, and host community liabilities tied to the divested interest. The divestment remains subject to ministerial consent, with the assignees required to pay applicable premiums and processing fees.
The regulator also clarified the status of a separate transaction between TotalEnergies and Chappal Energies, for which ministerial consent was initially granted in October 2024. NUPRC explained that the approval was withdrawn on May 29, 2025, after Chappal failed to complete the deal despite several extensions. The commission stressed, however, that the withdrawal does not preclude future divestments by the parties.
Meanwhile, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, has urged global investors to take advantage of reforms in Nigeria’s oil sector. Speaking at a U.S.–Nigeria Council session on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lokpobiri said new investments worth billions of dollars are flowing into the industry for the first time in more than a decade.
He attributed the renewed momentum to the Petroleum Industry Act and recent reforms, which he said have created a globally competitive investment climate.
“Nigeria has significantly ramped up production and repositioned itself as a dependable energy hub across West Africa,” Lokpobiri said, while reaffirming the country’s commitment to cleaner exploration and energy transition goals.
