Shell in Talks with FG Over Future of Operations in Nigeria

Royal Dutch Shell is currently reviewing its activities in Nigeria, with discussions ongoing as to the future of its operations in the country.

A spokesman, who craved anonymity, said that the company was in talks with the Nigerian authorities to ensure a smooth transition in whatever course the company decides to take concerning its activities in the country, but declined to go into the specifics.

The source told THISDAY that consultations were ongoing about the future of Shell’s onshore oil operations in Nigeria, but that talks were still at the early stages.

“Discussions with the Nigerian government are ongoing on the next steps for our onshore business in Nigeria. We are in the early stages of reviewing the commercial options,” the Shell official stated.

In May, the source pointed out that the company’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben van Beurden, while speaking at the company’s annual general meeting, said that Shell could no longer afford to be exposed to the risk of theft and sabotage.

As you all awared that many people, especially in the Niger Delta, always cry out and blame the company for the degradation of the region’s environment, the company, however, said most of the spills in the region are a result of vandalism, as well as operational issues, some of which have led to costly repair operations and high-profile lawsuits.

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 damages to farmers, leading van Beurden to call its Nigerian onshore assets a “headache”.

In what it seems as an advance preparation to de-invest front the offshore business, the company’s onshore joint venture, Shell Petroleum Development Agency (SPDC), has sold about 50 percent of its oil assets over the past decade, with its stake in the venture giving it 156,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent in 2020, of which 66,000 barrels was oil.

We recall that SPDC operates the company’s shallow-water and onshore asset interests via its 30 percent interest called and know as the SPDC joint venture, which supplies around 10 percent of Nigeria’s gas demand.

For instance, on January 15, 2021, SPDC completed the sale of its 30 percent interest in OML 17 in the Eastern Niger Delta, and associated infrastructure to TNOG Oil and Gas Ltd, a related company of Heirs Holdings Ltd and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, for consideration of $533 million

August 01, 2021