FG Considers Options, as Talks Begin over Shell’s Divestment Plan

• Says AGF to determine next move on Malabu judgement

By Ndubuisi Francis

The federal government on Tuesday revealed that it was weighing some options as discussions with Anglo-Dutch oil company, Shell, begin over its plan for a total divestment from onshore operations in the country.

The Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who disclosed this in Abuja, said three possible options being considered include a take over by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); acquisition by indigenous operators, and involving a mixture of local players and other foreign independent operators in the process.

The minister noted that while the federal government was in consultations with the oil giant on the divestment move, “some actually feel that Shell should not hurriedly divest and to at least stay,” adding that “where Shell has completely divested from a sector is not good for us.”
The Anglo-Dutch energy giant has been gradually selling its onshore assets for over a decade in Nigeria.

Details soon. …