Shell to acquire additional interest in operated Bonga field offshore Nigeria
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co. (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell plc, has agreed to acquire from TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd. (TEPNG) an additional share in an oil mining lease offshore Nigeria for $510 million.
Through the deal, Shell would acquire TotalEnergies’ 12.5% stake in the OML 118 production sharing contract (PSC), which includes Bonga field, taking its total interest in the PSC to 67.5% from 55%.
Bonga, in water depths over 1,000 m about 120 km south of the Niger Delta, is produced via a floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel with a capacity to produce 225,000 b/d of oil (OGJ Online, Dec. 1, 2005; Aug. 6, 2014).
The field produced its one-billionth barrel of crude oil in 2023, and in December 2024, SNEPCo made a positive financial investment decision to develop Bonga North field via subsea tieback. Bonga North currently has an estimated recoverable resource volume of more than 300 MMboe and is expected to reach peak production of 110,000 b/d of oil, with first oil anticipated by the end of the decade.
SNEPCo (55%) operates the Bonga field in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. (20%), Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd. (12.5%), and TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd. (12.5%), on behalf of the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd. (NNPC).
The share transaction with TotalEnergies is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions and is expected to be completed before end-2025.
