Equinor disposes of its Nigerian business and stake in Chevron’s offshore oil field

Norwegian state-owned energy giant Equinor is in the process of exiting Nigeria, thanks to a deal with Chappal Energies to sell its Nigerian business, which entails a stake in a Chevron-operated oil field.

As Nigeria’s Chappal Energies is focusing on unlocking latent value in Nigeria and Africa’s oil and gas resources by revitalizing aging assets to secure longevity, the company entered into an agreement to buy Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85% ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21% stake in the Agbami oil field, which is operated by Chevron.

Nina Koch, Equinor’s Senior Vice President for Africa Operations, commented: “Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years. This transaction realizes value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas portfolio and focus on core areas. Chappal Energies is a committed Nigerian-owned energy company with the ambition to develop the assets further, contributing to the Nigerian economy for years to come.”

Furthermore, the closing of the transaction is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions including all regulatory and contractual approvals. Equinor has been present in Nigeria since 1992. The Norwegian player underlines the “significant role” it played in the development of the African country’s largest deepwater field, Agbami. Since production started in 2008, the field has produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil, creating value for the partners and Nigerian society.

Ufoma Immanuel, Managing Director of Chappal Energies, remarked: “We are excited to take over the baton from Equinor after three decades of enduring legacy. Value creation, environmental stewardship, and community engagement are at the heart of everything we do, and our social and development impact will be the most important measurement of our success.”

Elsewhere, Equinor has had a very busy year and is working on bringing several projects on stream. After submitting the declarations of commerciality and plans of development for two natural gas fields in the BM-C-33 concession located in Brazil’s Campos Basin in September 2023, the company hired Saipem.