Shell sells Nigerian assets to local consortium
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell said on Friday that it was selling
certain assets in Nigeria’s troubled delta region to a local consortium.
In a statement, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria
Ltd said it agreed to transfer its interest in three production licences
and related equipment in the Niger Delta to a consortium led by two
Nigerian companies.
“This sale of assets supports the Nigerian government’s goal of
expanding opportunities for local energy companies,” Mutiu Sunmonu, SPDC
managing director, said in the statement.
“We have been in Nigeria for more than 50 years and remain committed
to doing business here. This transaction should be seen in the context
of Shell’s active portfolio management of its assets and interests
across the world.”
Financial terms of the sale were not given in the statement. The
buyer was named as Seplat Petroleum Company Ltd, a Nigerian company
jointly held by two Nigerian firms — Platform Petroleum Ltd and Shebah
Petroleum Development Company Ltd, along with Maurel & Prom of France.
The agreement is subject to the approval of the Federal Government of
Nigeria and the national oil company, the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC), the statement said.
The area includes about 30 wells with a production capacity of
approximately 50,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. The wells also
produce natural gas for domestic and industrial use. Crude production is
currently shut down awaiting completion of repairs to an export pipeline
damaged in late 2008, it added.
The Niger delta region has been troubled for years by rebel groups
demanding a greater local share of its resources, pressing their claims
through attacks on installations and kidnappings of oil industry
workers.
AFP |