The great portfolio shuffle

Nigeria approves TotalEnergies' $510m sale of its Bonga field stake to Shell and Agip. Separately, Eni sells a 30% share in Côte d’Ivoire's Baleine project to Vitol.

Nigeria’s oil regulator has approved a $510 million deal for TotalEnergies to sell its entire 12.5% stake in Oil Mining Lease 118, which hosts the Bonga offshore field, to Shell and Agip. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission said Shell will acquire 10% for $408 million, while Agip will take 2.5% for $102 million. The deal lifts Shell’s interest in Bonga to 65%, underscoring its commitment to offshore production after offloading onshore assets to Renaissance earlier this year. The regulator added that due diligence on Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and Nigerian Agip Exploration confirmed their capacity to operate the asset. In Côte d’Ivoire, Italian major Eni has sold a 30% stake in the Baleine offshore project to Vitol. Eni now holds Baleine at 47.25%, Vitol at 30%, and state-owned Petroci at 22.75%. Current output is over 62,000 barrels of oil and 75 million cubic feet of gas per day, with Phase 3 expected to boost production to 150,000 barrels of oil and 200 million cubic feet of gas per day. Eni said the move fits its model of monetising discoveries while retaining operatorship.