By Emeka Nze
Royal Dutch Shell has announced plans to divest from its onshore fields to focus more on cleaner energy and offshore production, but government is dissuading the oil giant to change its decision.
Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, who disclosed this in Abuja, confirmed that government is in discussions with Shell about its future in the country. He said “some actually feel also that Shell should not hurriedly divest and to at least stay”, adding that a situation “where Shell has completely divested from a sector is not good for us.”
Nigeria is encouraging Royal Dutch Shell Plc to keep its onshore oil and gas business in the country instead of divesting it.
According to Timipre Sylva, options on the table include a potential divestment to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company Limited, a subsidiary of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Other possibilities include involving local and other foreign independent operators in the process, he added.
Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said Tuesday that the company was in conversations with the Nigerian government on “a way to move forward” as oil spill risks associated to its onshore were not aligned with its energy transition strategy. However, he did say that it would focus on its deepwater and gas investments in the country.
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant has been gradually selling its onshore assets for more than a decade in Nigeria — an OPEC member and Africa’s largest oil producer — as it seeks to put aside problems related to ruptured pipelines and legal battles with local communities.
-Bloomberg