Nigerian-owned Chappal Energies has agreed to acquire Equinor’s Nigerian business, including its share in Agbami, Nigeria’s largest deep-water oil field. Terms of the deal, which will lead to Equinor effectively exiting the country, were not disclosed.
Chappal will acquire Equinor Nigeria Energy Co. (ENEC), which holds a 53.85% ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitized 20.21% stake in Chevron Corp.-operated Agbami. Chevron holds 67.30% interest and Prime 127 holds the remaining 12.49%.
Agbami lies 110 km off the Nigerian coast in water depths of 1,500 m. It has been developed using subsea wells and is the world’s largest floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) vessel, according to Equinor’s website. The FPSO can store up to 2.2 million bbl of oil. The field has produced more than 1 billion bbl of oil since production started in 2008.
Equinor’s Nigerian business includes a 53.85% interest in exploration licenses OMLs 128 and 129. Six wells have been drilled in both, with two discoveries made. The Nnwa discovery is predominantly comprised of gas as well as some oil. Bilah is a gas and condensate discovery. Both remain undeveloped.
The deal’s closing is subject to certain conditions including all regulatory and contractual approvals.
