TotalEnergies has revealed intentions to divest a forty-per-cent share in two offshore exploration licences in Nigeria to Chevron, signalling a strengthened partnership between the French and American energy giants. The company clarified that it will continue as operator with a forty-percent stake, while Chevron will hold another forty percent and South Atlantic Petroleum will retain the remaining twenty percent. This proposed deal comes at a period when Nigeria continues to serve as one of TotalEnergies’ most significant production hubs on the continent, accounting for more than one-third of its African output and over eight percent of its global hydrocarbons, despite a production decline of roughly twenty-five percent over the past two decades.
The company stated that the divestment is part of a broader strategy to streamline its African asset base by prioritising fields where it holds operational control, while simultaneously pursuing fresh supply prospects. Collaboration with Chevron has also been expanding internationally. Earlier in June, Chevron assigned a twenty-five-percent stake in forty offshore U.S. leases to TotalEnergies, strengthening their expanding exploration partnership. The new Nigerian arrangement builds upon that foundation, reflecting a shared strategy to jointly evaluate high-potential basins while balancing investment risks and development obligations.
According to TotalEnergies, the farmout arrangement covers PPL 2000 and PPL 2001 in the West Delta basin. The licences span about two thousand square kilometres and were secured following the 2024 exploration licensing exercise led by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. Under the revised structure, both companies will collaborate in scouting for new exploration opportunities with the goal of unlocking untapped resources in a basin widely regarded as one of the country’s most prospective offshore zones. The company underscored that the partnership aligns with national ambitions to spur fresh upstream investments and reinforce long-term production stability.
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The energy company added that this venture further strengthens its global offshore exploration alliance with Chevron, complementing the earlier U.S. transaction, and is expected to contribute to risk-mitigation activities across the Nigerian licences. It highlighted that the successful completion of the farmout is still contingent upon regulatory endorsements and customary closing conditions. For Nigeria’s wider petroleum industry, such expanded partnerships often introduce renewed capital inflows, advanced technological capabilities, and enhanced opportunities for indigenous service firms and contractors participating in future exploration and development programmes.
TotalEnergies noted that it has maintained operations in Nigeria for over sixty years and currently employs around one thousand eight hundred staff across different business segments. Nigeria remains one of its most valuable contributors, delivering hydrocarbon output of two hundred and nine thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2024. Beyond its upstream activities, the company operates an extensive retail network of over five hundred fuel stations nationwide and reaffirmed its commitment to supporting socio-economic development and sustaining partnerships with host communities as it continues to expand its investments in the country.
