Shell to Offload Onshore Nigerian Oil Assets in a Move to Cleaner Energy
Shell’s divestment could deal a fresh blow to the fiscal plans of the Nigerian government, about 90% of whose revenue comes from oil, as it rebalances from the oil crash of 2020.
Royal Dutch Shell will offload the last of its Nigerian assets in a move to rein back risks including sabotage, theft and litigation with host communities in Africa’s largest oil producer, and commit its future to cleaner energy elsewhere, the oil super-major said.
But the government wants Shell, with which it runs a joint venture vehicle called Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), to at least retain onshore operations for now rather than undertake a complete exit from the country.
“Nigeria is in its talks with Shell include handing over Shell’s stakes in the assets to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company…. inviting bids from Nigerian indigenous producers, or having a mixture of local firms and foreign independent producers to bid for the assets,” Minister of Petroleum and Natural Resources Timipre Sylva told journalists in Abuja.
Photo courtesy of Zbynek Burival.
Source: ESI Africa (link opens in a new window)
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