France’s Total SA, Europe’s second largest oil company, has put one of its offshore Nigerian oil fields up for sale again, the company said, after a 2012 deal with China’s Sinopec Corp failed.
Total has hired BNP Paribas to find buyers for its Usan deepwater oil field located in the Nigeria Oil Prospecting Lease (OML) 138, which could be worth about $2.5 billion, according to sources familiar with the matter.
“We have selected an advisor to pursue the sale process of Usan,” a spokeswoman for Total said.
BNP Paribas declined to comment.
Usan is not expected to be an easy sale for Total because deepwater exploration requires significant investment and the new owner’s returns could be limited if Nigeria rises taxes on foreign investor profits as part of a long expected sector reform called the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).
Before deciding to sell the asset, which is about 100 km off the coast, Total was planning to drill several horizontal deepwater wells and build a deep offshore drilling rig.
“Anything in Nigeria is a tough sell,” said a London-based sector banker. “And anything with capex is even tougher these days. Very few players would be willing to acquire assets that have big investment commitments attached.”
Total said in November 2012 it had sold its 20 percent interest in the field to China’s Sinopec for about $2.5 billion in cash. It is not known why the sale failed.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is the OML 138 concession holder. Other partners include Chevron, ExxonMobil and Nexen, which is owned by Chinese state company CNOOC Ltd.
Total is working on several asset disposals to meet a $10 billion 2015 cash flow generation target. The French group is seeking to raise about $2.5 billion through the sale of its Super Glu maker Bostik, Reuters reported.
ASIAN BUYERS?
A deal for the Usan field may have to involve a local company because Nigeria, Africa’s top oil producer, is renewing efforts to recoup the benefits from its oil and gas sector.
But few Nigerian players would have the money and ability to complete the necessary drilling and building works, several sector bankers said.
This means Total’s hopes may lie again in the hands of Asian buyers like China’s CNOOC, which already has an interest in the USAN field, or India’s ONGC and Indian Oil.