Equinor Nigeria Energy Company on Wednesday announced the sale of its Nigerian business, including its share in the Agbami oil field, to Nigerian-owned Chappal Energies.

Nina Koch, Equinor Senior Vice President for Africa Operations, disclosed this in a statement in Lagos.

Koch said that Equinor and Chappal Energies had entered into an agreement for the sale of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 per cent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128.

He said that this included the unitised 20.21 per cent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.

According to him, Equinor has been present in Nigeria since 1992 and has played a significant role in developing Nigeria’s largest deep-water field, Agbami.

He said that since production started in 2008, the Agbami field had produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil, creating value for the partners and Nigerian society.

“Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years. This transaction realises value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimise its international oil and gas portfolio and focus on core areas.

“Chappal Energies is a committed Nigerian-owned energy company with the ambition to develop the assets further, contributing to the Nigerian economy for years to come,” Koch said.

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Koch said that Equinor remained an international energy company committed to long-term value creation in a low-carbon future.

“Our purpose is to turn natural resources into energy for people and progress for society.

“Equinor’s portfolio of projects encompasses oil and gas, renewables and low-carbon solutions, with an ambition of becoming a net-zero energy company by 2050.

“Headquartered in Stavanger (Norway), Equinor is the leading operator on the Norwegian continental shelf. We are present in around 30 countries worldwide,” Koch said.

Also speaking, Mr Ufoma Immanuel, Managing Director of Chappal Energies expressed the company’s delight in the need deal.

Immanuel said: ‘We are excited to take over the baton from Equinor after three decades of enduring legacy.

“Value creation, environmental stewardship, and community engagement are at the heart of everything we do, and our social and development impact will be the most important measurement of our success.

“We are confident in our ability to make a lasting impact and are committed to fostering sustainable growth and contributing to Nigeria’s economic prosperity now and in the future,” he said.

Immanuel, however, said that the closing of the transaction was subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions including all regulatory and contractual approvals.

He explained that Chappal Energies was an energy company focusing on unlocking latent value in Nigeria and Africa’s oil and gas resources, revitalising aging assets with solutions that secure longevity.

He said that the firm also focused on enhancement of operational efficiency, produced water management, improved evacuation logistics, gas development, capex optimisation, and infrastructure replacement.