Shell to divest Nigerian unit to Renaissance for undisclosed sum
Energy giant Shell announced Tuesday that it has reached a deal to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited or SPDC, to Renaissance, for an undisclosed sum.
Renaissance is a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production firms based in Nigeria and an international energy group.
Zoe Yujnovich, Shell's integrated gas and upstream director, said: "This agreement marks an important milestone for Shell in Nigeria, aligning with our previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta, simplifying our portfolio and focusing future disciplined investment in Nigeria on our deepwater and integrated gas positions."
Following the transaction, Shell will retain a role in supporting the management of SPDC or joint venture or JV facilities that supply a major portion of the feed gas to Nigeria LNG.
The deal will preserve the full range of SPDC's operating capabilities following the change of ownership. This includes the technical expertise, management systems, and processes that SPDC implements on behalf of all the companies in the SPDC joint venture.
The SPDC joint venture comprised of SPDC Ltd with a 30% stake, followed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation with 55%, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd with 10% and 5% held by Nigeria Agip Oil Company Ltd.
Shell was trading down by 1.66% at $62.74 per share in the pre-market trade on the New York Stock Exchange.
