Sale Of Shell’s $2.4 Billion Onshore Asset To Renaissance Approved By FG
Nigeria’s federal government has reportedly approved the sale of Shell Petroleum Development Company’s (SPDC) onshore assets to Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, a local oil and gas consortium.
The approval was announced by Renaissance in a statement on Wednesday.
In the statement, Renaissance said, “This approval is a significant step forward from the purchase agreement announced in January. The approval was reportedly given by Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Heineken Lokpobiri.
According to Africa Report, Shell’s $5 billion investment in the Bonga North project was instrumental in convincing the government to approve the sale of the onshore assets, originally agreed at $1.3 billion.
Didactic Information Hut recalls that the sale was blocked by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in October, despite an agreement being reached in January. The assets reportedly contain an estimated 6.73 billion barrels of oil and condensate and 56.27 trillion cubic feet of associated and unassociated gas, and according to NUPRC CEO Gbenga Komolafe, the commission rejected the deal “because it did not pass the regulatory test,” he said.
The NUPRC is also concerned about the numerous lawsuits and allegations against Shell Nigeria over human rights abuses and environmental destruction in the Niger Delta region, and the NUPRC said it will only approve the sale if Shell accepts responsibility for the oil spill and agrees to fund cleanup efforts in the Niger Delta. He stated that he would approve the sale.
