Shell is negotiating with Nigeria to sell shares in onshore oil fields

According to a report from EnergyWorld.

Shell is the operator of SPDC, an onshore oil and gas joint venture in West Africa.

Shell CEO Ben Van Belden stated at the company's annual shareholder meeting that Shell can no longer face the risk of theft and sabotage.

Nigeria’s Oil Minister Timipre Sylva confirmed that the government is negotiating with Shell on how to divest its onshore equity.

Sylva said in a statement that the two parties are considering transferring these shares to SPDC or another local company, or selling them to a foreign company.

Shell's onshore joint venture SPDC in Nigeria has sold approximately 50% of its oil assets in the past ten years.

Hao Fen Translated from Energy World Network

The original text is as follows:

Shell in talks with Nigeria to divest onshore oil stakes

Royal Dutch Shell is in talks with the Nigerian government to sell the Anglo-Dutch company's stake in onshore oilfields, CEO Ben van Beurden said on Tuesday.

Shell, the operator of the West African country's onshore oil and gas joint venture SPDC, has struggled for years with spills in the Niger Delta as a result of pipeline theft and sabotage as well as operational issues.

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, CEO Ben van Beurden said that Shell can no longer be exposed to the risk of theft and sabotage.

"We cannot solve community problems in the Niger Delta, that's for the Nigerian government perhaps to solve.

"We've drawn that conclusion, and we're now talking to the Nigerian government on the way forward.

Nigerian Oil Minister Timipre Sylva confirmed the government was in talks with Shell on how to divesting its onshore stakes.

The sides are considering transferring the stakes to SPDC or to another local company or selling it to a foreign company, Sylva said in a statement.

Shell's Nigerian onshore joint venture SPDC has sold about 50% of its oil assets over the past decade.