Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has completed the final stage of its divestment from onshore oil production assets in the Niger Delta, transferring its remaining 30% stake in a joint venture covering 15 oil fields in Rivers and Bayelsa states to a consortium of Nigerian-owned companies, in a deal valued at approximately 1.3 billion dollars.
The transaction, which has been in negotiation for over three years, marks the end of Shell onshore production presence in the Niger Delta after more than six decades of operations. Shell will retain its deepwater and LNG assets in Nigeria.
The acquiring consortium, led by Renaissance Africa Energy Company, includes four Nigerian independent oil producers with combined experience of over 80 years in upstream petroleum operations. Renaissance CEO Richard Acheampong said the acquisition represented a historic shift in the ownership structure of Nigerian oil production.
Environmental groups have raised concerns about whether the Nigerian acquiring companies have the financial resources and technical capacity to manage the remediation obligations that come with the assets, including dozens of documented oil spill sites that require long-term cleanup programmes.
The Federal Government has welcomed the divestment as consistent with its policy of increasing Nigerian participation in upstream oil production, while the NNPC has said it will work with the new operators to ensure that production targets are maintained during the ownership transition.
