The Nigerian government has declined to authorize Shell’s $2.4 billion divestment of its onshore and shallow water assets to the local consortium, Renaissance.
These assets encompass approximately 6.73 billion barrels of crude oil and condensate, in addition to 56.27 trillion cubic feet of gas.
Announcing the government’s decision, the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, indicated that while five divestment applications had been processed, only four received approval.
Among the notable transactions that were sanctioned was ExxonMobil’s sale of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy, OsunDailyNG understands.
During an event commemorating the NUPRC’s three-year anniversary, Komolafe did not elaborate on the specific reasons behind the government’s rejection of the Shell-Renaissance agreement.
Nonetheless, he emphasized the government’s dedication to ensuring that all transactions adhere to the regulatory standards set forth under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Komolafe stated, “We have processed four of the transactions, and four of them have received ministerial consent.”
The approved transactions include:
- Equinor–Project Odinmim: Approved in line with the PIA and granted ministerial consent.
- Agip to Oando: Processed according to regulatory guidelines and approved.
- ExxonMobil-Seplat: Approved and granted ministerial consent.
- TotalEnergies’ 10 percent divestment to Telema Energies: Also approved with ministerial consent.
According to Komolafe, this marks the first time in history that such a comprehensive regulatory framework has been implemented to ensure transparent divestment processes within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
