Thursday, August 28, 2014

Shell to Sell Four More Oil Fields in Nigeria
Nigerian niara is the unit of currency.
Wednesday, 27 August 2014 18:45
Written by Sulaimon Salau with Agency report
Nigerian Guardian

SHELL Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has concluded plans to sell four of its oil fields in Nigeria, as part its $15 billion global divestment plan.

    The multinational oil firm confirmed the sale process through a spokesman at its headquarter at the Hague, saying: “We have signed sales and purchase agreements for some of the Oil Mining Leases, but not all that we are seeking to divest,”

   “The assets under consideration are OMLs 18, 24, 25, 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line, but the process has not yet concluded.”

       Shell had recently decided to shake up its portfolio in Nigeria, United States among others, in its bids to cut costs.

   The oil giant last year put up for sale its 30 per cent shares in four oil blocks in the Niger Delta, Oil Mining Licence (OML) 18, 24, 25, 29, as well as a key pipeline, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.

   Analysts said the oil firm is advancing plans to the oil fields in Nigeria to meet a $15 billion asset sales plan initiated by the Anglo Dutch firm through 2015.

   Shell’s Chief Executive Officer, Ben Van Beurden, the company has already completed about $8 billion in asset sales this year, after announcing plans to dispose about $15 billion through 2015.

   The company, had earlier this month sold two natural gas assets in Wyoming and Louisiana (United States) for $2.1 billion plus shale acreage in Pennsylvania.

  Another source close to the deal quoted by Financial Times, said: “In June 2013 we announced a strategic review of our operations in the Eastern Niger Delta, which we said could result in the divestment of some of our interests there,”

   “A process of staff engagement for those potentially impacted in the event of a successful divestment has begun and will continue over the coming months.”

   In several rounds of divestments, Shell has been moving away from Nigerian onshore oil, which is plagued by industrial scale oil theft, security problems and oil spills.

   Efforts to get further details from the Nigerian subsidiary of the firm was not fruitful, as the spokesman was said to be engaged in a prolonged meeting as at press time.

  Shell’s deep-water subsidiary in Nigeria, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) recently announced oil production from the first well at the Bonga North West deep-water development off the Nigerian coast, another milestone for the country’s energy industry.

   The Bonga FPSO has been upgraded to handle the additional oil flow from Bonga North West which, at peak production, is expected to contribute 40,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, helping to maintain the facility’s overall output.

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