By Obas Esiedesa,
The Federal Government has refused to grant approval for Shell’s $2.4 billion divestment of its onshore and shallow water assets to the local consortium, Renaissance.
These assets include an estimated 6.73 billion barrels of crude oil and condensate, along with 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, revealed that while the government had processed five divestment applications, only four were approved.
One of the key deals that received approval was ExxonMobil’s sale of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy.
Speaking at an event marking the NUPRC’s three-year anniversary, Komolafe did not provide specific reasons for the government’s decision to block the Shell-Renaissance deal.
However, he highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring that all transactions comply with the regulatory standards established 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.
He further emphasized that 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.