Nigerian regulator pulls approval for TotalEnergies' $860 million asset sale to Chappal Energies

TotalEnergies had hoped to divest the spill-prone onshore oil assets last year Deal between Chappal and Total had not closed after multiple deadline extensions Total was counting on cash from sale to help cut debt By Isaac Anyaogu and America Hernandez PARIS, Sept 23 - TotalEnergies’ (TTEF.PA) sale of a minority stake in a Nigerian onshore oil producer has fallen through, Nigerian regulators said on Tuesday, in a setback to the French oil major’s strategy to sell mature, polluting assets and pay down debt. Total agreed in July 2024 to sell its 10% stake in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies, one of a wave of divestments by oil majors in recent years of onshore Nigerian oil assets. However, regulatory approval for the sale granted last October has been withdrawn because the two sides have not met financial commitments required to complete the deal, according to Eniola Akinkuoto, spokesperson for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. “The ministerial consent was accompanied by certain financial obligations to the Nigerian people with strict deadlines. However, both parties failed to meet their financial commitments after repeated extensions, forcing the commission to cancel the deal,” Akinkuoto said on Tuesday. Chappal Energies and TotalEnergies declined to comment. One source familiar with the negotiations said Chappal failed to raise the $860 million, and as a result Total did not fulfil its requirement to pay regulatory fees and cover funds for environmental rehabilitation and future liabilities. The failed deal leaves Total saddled with its stake in a business which has struggled with hundreds of oil spills as a result of theft, sabotage and operational issues that led to costly repairs and high-profile lawsuits. In March, Shell (SHEL.L) sold its 30% stake in SPDC to a consortium of five mostly local companies for up to $2.4 billion. U.S. major Exxon Mobil (XOM.N) , Italy’s Eni (ENI.MI) and Norway’s Equinor (EQNR.OL) have also sold Nigerian assets in recent years to focus on newer, more profitable operations elsewhere. Chappal Energies, which specialises in producing oil and gas from mature and distressed upstream assets in the Niger Delta, last year successfully closed the purchase of Nigerian assets from Equinor for $1.2 billion, with financial backing from Mauritius Commercial Bank and commodities trader Trafigura. Chappal has not disclosed its financial backers for the proposed purchase from TotalEnergies. Other SPDC shareholders include the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (55%) and Eni (5%). Total’s unsuccessful exit is a setback to its goal to offload more high cost, polluting assets and pay down some of its debt, which leapt 89% to $25.9 billion in the year to July. CEO Patrick Pouyanne told investors in July the Nigerian sale was one of three deals that would bring in $3.5 billion before year-end and lower the company’s debt-to-equity ratio, which hit 28% including leases and hybrid debt at mid-year. The failed sale also leaves Total with interests in 15 licences in mostly oil-producing fields that netted the company about 14,000 barrels of oil-equivalent per day in 2023, as well as three licences in gas fields that account for 40% of its Nigeria LNG gas supply.