Friends of the Earth France, and a handful of other non-profits, have filed a civil suit against TotalEnergies in France requesting access to environmental data connected to the company’s planned sale of its onshore oil interests in Nigeria’s Niger Delta. Filed July 1, 2026, the lawsuit seeks to force the oil giant to disclose the conditions of its intended divestment from the Renaissance joint venture in which it owns a 10% share.
The case is made under Article 145 of the French Code of Civil Procedure, which allows parties to ask a court to impose measures to preserve or gather evidence before a substantive action is filed. NGOs say the deal has been done with little public notice, raising issues about who will be responsible for cleaning up polluted sites and paying communities damaged by decades of oil exploration in the Niger Delta.
France's Duty of Vigilance Law
The lawsuit cites France's corporate 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 NGOs want to analyse environmental management plans included in the sale agreement. If they deem them insufficient under Total's duty of vigilance, they can file a second lawsuit asking the court to force Total to take remedial steps.
The organisations involved in the legal action include Friends of the Earth France, Hawkmoth, HEDA Resource Centre and Social Action International, supported by The Corner House and ReCommon. They are demanding documents that would clarify the terms of the proposed sale of TotalEnergies' stake in the Renaissance joint venture.
Nigeria's Niger Delta: A Legacy of Pollution
The organisations cited findings by the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, which described the Niger Delta as one of the world's 'most polluted places on Earth.' Decades of oil production have left drinking water contaminated, destroyed fisheries and rendered large areas of farmland unsuitable for cultivation. 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 — an amount estimated to be 35 to 50 times the volume released during the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska.
'This case is about people, not just oil assets. It is about children growing up with poisoned water, families breathing polluted air, and communities losing their health and livelihoods while international oil companies walk away with decades of profits,' said Isaac Osuoka, Coordinator of Social Action International.
The Sale Agreement and Regulatory Hurdles
TotalEnergies announced in January 2026 that it had signed a sale and purchase agreement to divest its 10% non-operating interest in the Renaissance joint venture to Nigerian consortium Vaaris. The proposed sale covers its interest in 18 onshore oil mining licences in the Niger Delta but excludes its stakes in three gas-producing licences that supply about half of the feed gas to the Nigeria LNG project.
Completion of the transaction remains subject to approval by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). Nigerian regulators have not yet approved the sale. Before it approves the sale, Nigeria's oil regulator must first verify Vaaris has the technical and financial expertise to operate the asset, including maintaining environmental standards.
NGOs, however, question whether Renaissance's new owners have that financial capacity. Vaaris has yet to close its transaction with Total despite repeated deadline extensions. And Shell had to loan funds to buyer Renaissance Africa Energy Company in order to complete the sale of its stake.
Industry Perspective and Concerns
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanne said at the company's May 29 shareholder meeting that it was selling the asset because it was unable to stop oil theft. 'There is a national sport of sorts involving making holes in these pipes to take the oil and load it onto tankers. It's like the Wild West,' he said. Acts of sabotage have largely subsided since Shell sold its 30% stake in the asset, which was recently renamed Renaissance, to a Nigerian company and production has increased, he added.
Total was responsible for confirmed cases of pollution under its ownership, Pouyanne told the meeting, but Vaaris would be responsible for future leaks. 'Given the increased production that has occurred with the departure of international companies, I think they'll have the money to finance cleanup. And above all, there will be less sabotage, so pollution will go down,' he said.
However, activists remain sceptical. 'None of the divestments so far has involved a blueprint for environmental remediation,' said Ken Henshaw, executive director of We the People, an NGO based in the Niger Delta involved in the suit. 'The Nigerian government is more interested in how the successor companies will expand the assets and generate more oil for revenues rather than managing environmental issues,' he said.
