Norwegian Oil Firm To Reduce Business In Nigeria, Sell $3.5 billion Oilfield Stake

Investment bank, Standard Chartered, has been hired by Norwegian energy firm, Equinor, to sell its stake in the offshore Agbami oilfield.

Equinor opted to sell the stake due to a reduction in production output from the Agbami oilfield, according to a report by Reuters.

The decision comes after Equinor secured a two-decade extension deal for offshore block OML 128 license with the oil industry authority, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, in 2022. 

The OML 128 is part of the Agbami field, where Equinor owns a 20.21 per cent stake, Prime 127 accounts for 12.49 per cent, and the major operator, Chevron, holds a 67.30 per cent interest. 

It was learnt that Equinor recorded a 40 per cent discovery rate in the Agbami field, with production dropping from 36,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2019 to 29,000 oil equivalent per day in 2020. 

Equinor has drilled 10 wells in the Agbami field and invested $3.5 billion in the Agbami oilfield, however, it was disclosed that the company employed Standard Chartered to help conduct the sell-off at about $1 billion. 

Aside from Equinor, some foreign oil and gas companies; TotalEnergies, Shell, and ExxonMobil have also moved to sell their assets in Nigeria. 

Recall that in February 2022, US firm, ExxonMobil, had agreed to sell its entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy for $1.28 billion. 

However, the deal has been trialed by controversy, with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company blocking the offer from Seplat due to the regulator’s interest in the firm ExxonMobil is selling. 

As a result, the completion of the deal has been frustrated, with the needed Ministerial consent held back. This had led to claims that the acquisition has been halted, however, Seplat said it has not received “official notification of such a decision,” and the company is “seeking clarification from the relevant authorities. We will continue to work with all parties to achieve a successful outcome to the proposed acquisition,” a statement by the firm last year reads.