Energy company Total has completed the divestment of its 10% interest in onshore oil mining lease 17 to Nigerian company TNOG Oil and Gas, a company related to Heirs Holdings and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria, for about $180-million.
About $150-million was paid at completion of the transaction, with the balance to be paid under an agreed deferred payment scheme.
Total's share of the block production in 2020 was about 2 500 barrels of oil-equivalent a day.
“This transaction fits with our strategy of actively managing assets to continue improving our portfolio,” Total CFO Jean-Pierre Sbraire says.
Total holds a 10% interest in several onshore blocks in Nigeria operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company, a joint venture alongside the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and Nigerian Agip Oil Company.
Since 2010, Total has divested its interest in 12 onshore blocks to Nigerian companies, in line with the Nigerian government's aim of developing local companies in the sector.