French major TOTAL has reported earning over $1Billion from the divestment of its stake in onshore Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 18, 24 and 29 to Nigerian firms.
The Paris based operator gleefully declared, for the benefit of its shareholders, that the divestment of its stake in OML 29 to Aiteo Eastern E&P, alone, brought in $569 million.
“Together with the recently completed divestments of OML 24 and OML 18, TOTAL’s share of sale proceeds from these three onshore Nigerian blocks amounts to over $1 billion”, the statement said.
TOTAL had 10% stake in these blocks, with Shell having 30% and ENI holding 5%. If TOTAL raked in over $1Billion, it simply means that Shell had pocketed over $3Billion.
TOTAL is clearly excited by the ringing cash register that its Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is quoted in the press statement: “The sale of these non-operated onshore blocks in Nigeria is yet another example of our strategy of dynamic portfolio management, achieved at attractive valuations,” said Patrick de La Chevardière, the company’s CFO. “These transactions also reduce our exposure to non-operated blocks onshore Nigeria, and allow us to focus on our core, operated developments, such as the Egina project.”
The statement said that TOTAL has divested its interests in eleven onshore blocks to Nigerian companies, ”in line with the Federal Government of Nigeria’s aim of developing Nigerian companies in the sector”.
