France’s Total S.A. (NYSE: TOT) announced this morning that it has sold its 20% stake in an offshore Nigerian oil block to subsidiary of China Petrochemical Corp. (NYSE: SNP), or Sinopec, for $2.5 billion. Other partners in the block include subsidiaries of Chevron Corp. (NYSE: CVX) (30%), Exxon Mobil Corp. (NYSE: XOM) (30%) and Nexen Inc. (NYSE: NXY) (20%). The concession is owned by Nigeria’s national oil company, and Total is the operator of the Usan field, which went into production in February of this year.

A Total executive said:

The transaction is aligned with Total’s active portfolio management. Usan accounts for less than 10% of the Group’s equity production in Nigeria. This sale of an asset operated from a minority position will allow us to focus our resources on the material growth opportunities in Total’s portfolio.

Total’s production in Nigeria amounted to 287,000 barrels a day in 2011. The company holds many other assets in Nigeria, both onshore and offshore, and has had a presence in the country for 50 years.

Paul Ausick

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