French energy company, TotalEnergies has completed the sale of its 10 per cent non-operated interest in oil-producing assets under the Renaissance joint venture in Nigeria to Vaaris for $800 million, while maintaining its economic interests in gas fields supplying Nigeria LNG.
The transaction, announced on Tuesday concludes a divestment process initiated in January and marks another major ownership change in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry.
In a statement issued from Paris, TotalEnergies confirmed that the transaction was completed through its Nigerian subsidiary, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (TEPNG).
The sale covers the company’s interests in 15 oil-producing licences within the Renaissance joint venture, formerly known as the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) joint venture.
These assets contributed approximately 16,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to TotalEnergies’ production in 2025.
The agreement also involves the transfer of its 10 per cent participating interest in three gas-producing licences, OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77, to Vaaris.
However, TotalEnergies will retain the full economic benefits associated with those gas interests under the terms of the transaction.
The company said the three licences currently account for approximately 50 per cent of the natural gas supplied to Nigeria LNG, making them important to the country’s liquefied natural gas operations.
The arrangement allows TotalEnergies to withdraw from the joint venture’s oil-producing interests while preserving its financial exposure to gas assets that support Nigeria’s LNG production and exports.
The transaction was first announced on January 14, 2026, when TotalEnergies signed a sale and purchase agreement with Vaaris for its interest in the 18 licences held by the Renaissance joint venture.
At the time, the company explained that the transaction would involve the transfer of its participating interests and associated obligations, subject to the necessary regulatory approvals and other closing conditions.
The completion announced on Tuesday brings that agreement to a close.
The development follows an earlier unsuccessful attempt to sell the same interests to Chappal Energies for $860 million.
That transaction, announced in 2024, was not completed after regulatory concerns arose over the buyer’s ability to satisfy the financial requirements attached to the acquisition.
The latest $800 million agreement with Vaaris is $60 million lower than the value of the previous proposed transaction.
The Renaissance joint venture is one of Nigeria’s established upstream petroleum partnerships, holding 18 licences across the Niger Delta.
Before the latest ownership changes, Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) held 55 per cent, Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited held 30 per cent as operator, TotalEnergies held 10 per cent, while Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria held the remaining five per cent.
The TotalEnergies transaction comes a day after Italian energy company Eni announced the completion of the sale of its subsidiary, Agip Energy and Natural Resources Nigeria Limited, to Apex Global Energy Limited.
Apex is wholly owned by Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company Limited.
Agip’s principal interest in the Renaissance partnership was its five per cent holding, meaning the two transactions represent significant changes in the ownership structure of the joint venture within a short period.
The developments also reflect the continuing restructuring of Nigeria’s onshore oil and gas industry, as international energy companies adjust their asset portfolios and other investors acquire interests in established producing fields.
However, asset acquisitions do not automatically result in increased crude oil production.
Future output will depend on the buyers’ investment plans, field development activities, infrastructure reliability and the operational performance of the assets.
Despite the sale, TotalEnergies will maintain a significant presence in Nigeria’s energy industry.
The company disclosed that Nigeria contributed approximately 188,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to its global hydrocarbon production in 2025.
It has operated in the country for more than six decades and currently employs over 1,800 people across its business operations.
TotalEnergies also maintains a downstream petroleum distribution network comprising approximately 540 service stations nationwide.
The company’s decision to retain its economic interests in the three Renaissance gas licences underlines the continuing commercial importance of natural gas within Nigeria’s upstream sector.
As the country seeks to expand gas utilisation and strengthen LNG exports, the performance of producing assets supplying Nigeria LNG remains important to sustaining feedgas availability.
The completion of the Vaaris transaction therefore represents both an ownership change in Nigeria’s mature oil assets and a restructuring that allows TotalEnergies to preserve its financial interests in strategic natural gas production.
