French energy major TotalEnergies has agreed to sell its remaining onshore oil interests in Nigeria to a new, undisclosed buyer, reviving its long-delayed exit from one of the country’s most troubled oil joint ventures after regulators blocked a previous deal last year.
In a statement on Wednesday, TotalEnergies said it had signed an agreement to sell its 10 percent non-operated stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), now renamed the Renaissance joint venture, to Vaaris. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The sale follows the collapse of an earlier US$860 million agreement with Mauritius-based Chappal Energies, which Nigerian regulators rejected in 2025 after concluding the buyer lacked the financial capacity to complete the transaction. The decision dealt a setback to TotalEnergies’ strategy to divest from ageing, high-risk onshore oil assets in the Niger Delta while reducing debt and focusing on gas and lower-carbon projects.
The SPDC joint venture has long been plagued by oil theft, pipeline vandalism and environmental damage, leading to frequent production disruptions, costly repairs and a string of lawsuits both in Nigeria and overseas. These challenges have made the asset increasingly unattractive to international oil companies, which have steadily retreated from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector over the past decade.
TotalEnergies said the new deal also covers stakes in three other oil and gas licences that primarily supply gas to Nigeria LNG, the country’s flagship liquefied natural gas export project. However, the company added that it would retain full economic interest in those gas-producing licences, underlining its continued focus on gas as a transition fuel in Africa’s largest economy.
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No further details were provided about Vaaris, and TotalEnergies did not disclose the transaction value or timeline for completion. The deal remains subject to approval by Nigerian regulators, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Nigeria has tightened scrutiny of oil asset sales in recent years, insisting that buyers demonstrate strong financial backing, technical expertise and a credible plan to address legacy environmental liabilities. Authorities say the tougher stance is aimed at preventing poorly capitalised firms from inheriting complex assets and worsening pollution in the Niger Delta.
The divestment is part of a broader reshaping of Nigeria’s oil industry. In 2024, Shell completed the sale of its 30% stake in SPDC to a consortium of five mostly Nigerian companies for up to $2.4 billion, marking one of the largest onshore oil transactions in the country’s history. Shell said at the time that the exit would reduce its exposure to onshore operational and reputational risks while allowing it to focus on deepwater and gas projects.
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Following Shell’s departure, Nigeria’s state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) remains the largest shareholder in the joint venture, holding 55 percent, while Italy’s Eni owns 5 percent. The future ownership structure will depend on regulatory approval of TotalEnergies’ latest sale.
Environmental groups have long criticised international oil firms for divesting from polluted onshore assets without fully addressing decades of oil spills and contaminated land. SPDC has been at the centre of numerous high-profile cases, including lawsuits in European courts brought by Nigerian communities seeking compensation for environmental damage.
TotalEnergies has previously said it remains committed to meeting its environmental and social obligations in Nigeria and to supporting clean-up efforts required under Nigerian law. The company has also stressed that divestments do not absolve operators of responsibility for past pollution.
Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, relies heavily on crude exports for government revenue, but output from onshore fields has been hit by theft and sabotage. Successive governments have sought to attract new investors to revive production while enforcing stricter environmental and financial standards.
For TotalEnergies, the latest agreement signals renewed momentum in its push to streamline its African portfolio, prioritising offshore gas projects and renewable energy investments while exiting high-risk onshore oil operations.
If approved, the deal would mark the end of TotalEnergies’ long involvement in Nigeria’s onshore SPDC venture, closing a chapter that has become emblematic of the challenges facing oil production in the Niger Delta.
