Oil giants should closely watch ExxonMobil’s stalled sale of its Nigeria assets for lessons on how to safely navigate divesting from a country that offers strong union protection and health and safety regulations.

An agreement between Exxon and Lagos-based Seplat Energy for the purchase of the international firm’s four oil licences was reached in February. The $1.28bn deal was approved by Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari in early August, but just hours later Nigeria’s energy regulator rejected the deal.