Shell mulls selling Nigerian oil blocks
By Eniola Idris
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is on the verge of divesting oil stake in onshore oilfields.
Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden said the company is already in talks with the Federal Government on the divestment.
Shell, the operator of Nigeria’s onshore oil and gas joint venture SPDC, has struggled for years with spills in the Niger Delta as a result of pipeline theft and sabotage as well as operational issues. The spills have led to costly repair operations and high-profile lawsuits.
Speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, Beurden said Shell can no longer be exposed to the risk of theft and sabotage.
“We cannot solve community problems in the Niger Delta, that’s for the Nigerian government perhaps to solve. We can do our best, but at some point in time, we also have to conclude that this is an exposure that doesn’t fit with our risk appetite anymore,
“We’ve drawn that conclusion, and we’re now talking to the Nigerian government on the way forward.” He said.
Minister for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, confirmed that government was in talks with Shell on how to divest its onshore stakes.
The sides are considering transferring the stakes to another local company or selling it to a foreign company, Sylva said in a statement.
In February, a Dutch court held Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary responsible for multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages to farmers, leading van Beurden to call its Nigerian onshore assets as a “headache”.
