Equinor’s Nigeria business acquired by Chappal Energies

(Bloomberg) – Chappal Energies has completed the acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company, a unit of Norway-based Equinor ASA, a transaction first announced in 2023.

Nigerian regulators approved the transaction in November after months of delay. It was completed through Project Odinmim, a special purpose vehicle owned by Chappal, at an undisclosed sum.

The deal gives Mauritius-registered Chappal control of ENEC, which holds 53.85% ownership in the oil and gas lease OML 128, including a 20.2% stake in the Chevron-operated Agbami oil field, as well as the operatorship of OML 129, the company said in an emailed statement on Saturday.

The acquisition “brings immediate production and cashflow benefits,” said Ufoma Immanuel, managing director of Chappal Energies.

Rand Merchant Bank, a division of South Africa-based First Rand Bank Limited, acted as the sole financial adviser to Chappal Energies on the deal, one of several in Africa’s largest crude producing nation this year.

Oil majors, including Shell Plc, Eni and Exxon Mobil Corp. have divested or are in the processing of offloading assets in the West African nation — mostly in onshore and shallow water blocks — to domestic producers as they cut down their exposure to a challenging environment plagued by aging infrastructure and rampant oil theft.