Four civil society organisations have taken legal action against French energy company TotalEnergies, seeking access to documents related to the firm’s planned sale of its onshore oil interests in Nigeria’s Niger Delta.
The groups—Friends of the Earth France, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre, and Social Action International—announced the lawsuit in a joint statement, saying they want a French court to order the release of documents detailing the proposed divestment of TotalEnergies’ stake in the Renaissance joint venture.
Supported by The Corner House and ReCommon, the organisations said the case was filed under Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, which allows parties to obtain or preserve evidence before commencing a substantive legal action.
According to the organisations, there has been limited public information about the transaction, raising concerns over who will assume responsibility for cleaning up polluted sites and compensating communities affected by decades of oil exploration in the Niger Delta.
They said access to the requested documents would help determine whether TotalEnergies has complied with France’s Duty of Vigilance Law, which requires large companies to identify and prevent serious human rights and environmental risks linked to their operations and business relationships.
The legal challenge follows TotalEnergies’ announcement that it had signed an agreement to sell its 10 percent non-operating stake in the Renaissance joint venture to Nigerian consortium Vaaris.
The proposed sale covers the company’s interests in 18 onshore oil mining licences in the Niger Delta but excludes its shares in three gas-producing licences that supply roughly half of the feed gas for the Nigeria LNG project.
The transaction is still awaiting regulatory approval from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
The planned divestment comes after an earlier attempt by TotalEnergies to sell the same stake to Chappal Energies, a deal that was not completed before Vaaris emerged as the new buyer.
The civil society organisations cited findings by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, which described the Niger Delta as one of the world’s most polluted regions due to decades of oil production.
According to the commission’s 2023 report, between nine million and 13 million barrels of crude oil were spilled across the Niger Delta between 1958 and 2010, causing widespread environmental damage, contaminating water sources, destroying fishing livelihoods, and affecting farmland.
Social Action International Coordinator, Isaac Osuoka, said communities in the region should not be left to bear the environmental consequences of oil exploration while multinational companies exit after decades of operations.
The organisations also expressed concern over the broader withdrawal of major European oil companies from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector.
They noted that Shell completed the sale of its onshore subsidiary to Renaissance Africa Energy in March 2025, while Eni also announced plans in May 2026 to divest its interests in similar assets.
According to the groups, these transactions have raised concerns because there has been little public disclosure about financial guarantees for environmental remediation and compensation for affected communities.
During TotalEnergies’ annual general meeting in May, the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pouyanné, defended the decision to exit Nigeria’s onshore oil business, citing persistent crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism. He maintained that environmental liabilities associated with the assets would be transferred to the new owners in accordance with Nigerian law.
However, the organisations insist that the company should make the details of those commitments publicly available.
They are asking the French court to compel TotalEnergies to release documents relating to the proposed sale so they can assess whether the company has met its legal obligations before finalising the transaction.
As of the time the lawsuit was announced, neither TotalEnergies, Vaaris, nor the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission had publicly responded to the legal action.
