Written by Ejiofor Alike | From All Africa via This Day

Royal Dutch Shell has concluded the sale of its four Nigerian onshore oil blocks – Oil Mining Leases (OML) 18, 24, 25 and 29 – in addition to the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) – which it put up for sale following a 2013 review of its business in the country.

In an effort to reduce its exposure to onshore operations, which are more prone to security threats, Shell is divesting 30 per cent of its interest in the four blocks, while Total and ENI are selling 10 per cent and five per cent, respectively.

Fifty-five per cent will be retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) under a Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) with the new buyers.

The divestment is also part of the Anglo/Dutch giant’s plan to dispose of $15 billion of assets globally in 2014 and 2015. The sale of these four assets will bring the number of oil blocks sold by Shell to 12 in the last four years, as the oil major had previously sold OMLs 4, 38, 41, 26, 30, 34, 40 and 42 to local investors and their international partners.

Of the eight oil fields previously divested by Shell, only OMLs 4, 38 and 41 are operated by the new buyer, Seplat Petroleum Development Company, while the operatorship of the other five blocks were transferred to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the upstream subsidiary of NNPC.

Read more at All Africa