Norway’s Equinor makes divestment plan, sells Nigerian oil stake to Chappal Energies

Oredola Adeola

The Norwegian oil firm has agreed to sell Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC) with a 53.85 percent ownership in oil mining lease (OML) 128, including a 20.21 percent stake in the Agbami field, operated by Chevron to Chappal Energies, a Nigerian-owned firm.

Equinor made this known in a statement on Wednesday and obtained by EnergyDay.

EnergyDay’s check showed that Equinor has been present in Nigeria since 1992 and developed Nigeria’s largest deepwater field, Agbami, which is now transferred to Chappal Energies, an indigenous energy company.

According to Equinor, “Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil, creating value for the partners and the Nigerian society.”

The company said the closing of the transaction is subject to regulatory and contractual approvals.

Nina Koch, Equinor, Senior Vice President for African operations said Nigeria has been an integral part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years.

“This transaction realises 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,” Koch said.

EnergyDay gathered that the company’s production in the field has been declining rapidly in recent years, down from 36,000 boepd in 2019 and 29,000 boepd in 2020.

Equinor’s exit is part of the company’s efforts to focus on newer and more profitable assets.

The company has therefore hired investment bank Standard Chartered to run the sale process, which could raise $1 billion.