French energy giant TotalEnergies has completed the $800m sale of its interests in 15 Nigerian oil licences to Vaaris, while retaining its economic interests in three gas assets supplying half of Nigeria LNG's gas.
The company announced the completion of the transaction on Tuesday through its subsidiary, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria, ending a divestment process that began with an earlier deal that failed to materialise.
The transaction involves TotalEnergies' 10 per cent non-operated interest in the Renaissance joint venture's oil licences, which produce mainly crude oil.
However, the company will retain its full economic interest in three gas licences — OML 23, OML 28 and OML 77 — which currently account for 50 per cent of the gas supplied to Nigeria LNG.
The sale follows an agreement signed with Vaaris in January 2026 after an earlier attempt to sell the same interests to Mauritius-based Chappal Energies collapsed.
In July 2024, TotalEnergies agreed to sell its 10 per cent stake to Chappal Energies for $860m. However, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission withdrew its approval in September 2025 after the transaction failed to meet the required financial commitments.
The completed deal with Vaaris is $60m lower than the amount agreed with Chappal Energies.
The transaction comes amid a wider restructuring of international oil companies' onshore interests in Nigeria, with several operators selling assets to indigenous firms while retaining interests in selected offshore and gas operations.
Italian energy company Eni announced on Monday that it had completed the sale of its Nigerian subsidiary, Agip Energy and Natural Resources, to Apex Global Energy, a company owned by Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Company.
The subsidiary held a five per cent interest in the Renaissance joint venture.
Renaissance Africa Energy Company operates the venture with a 30 per cent stake, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited holds 55 per cent. Before the latest transactions, TotalEnergies held 10 per cent and Eni five per cent.
Despite the divestment, TotalEnergies remains involved in Nigeria's gas sector through its retained interests in the three licences linked to Nigeria LNG.
The French company's Nigerian production averaged 188,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2025, according to the figures cited in the report.
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