By Nneka Nwogwugwu
Royal Dutch Shell has placed more of its onshore oil assets in Nigeria for sale for the purpose of reducing carbon emissions.
The company placed these assets with at least five Nigerian oil and gas companies preparing to submit their respective bids for the acquisition of the assets in January.
NatureNews recalls that Shell last year started discussions with the federal government about selling its stake in the onshore fields, where it had been active since the 1930s, as part of a global drive to reduce its carbon emissions.
The Anglo-Dutch company has stakes in 19 oil mining leases in Nigeria’s onshore oil and gas joint venture (SPDC), which the industry and banking sources said were valued at between $2 billion to $3 billion.
Shell operates SPDC (Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria) and holds a 30 per cent stake in the venture.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited holds 55 per cent, TotalEnergies has 10 per cent and ENI five per cent.
The sale has drawn interest from independent Nigerian oil and gas firms including Seplat Energy Sahara Group, Famfa Oil, Troilus Investments Limited and Niger Delta Exploration and Production (NDEP), sources said.
According to Thisday, sources told Reuters that no international oil companies were expected to take part in the bidding process at this point, the sources said, adding that bids were due by January 31.
