NUPRC: Report on Commission’s Approval of Shell-Renaissance $1.3bn Deal Baseless

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) yesterday said that a news report indicating that it had given the nod to the divestment deal between Shell and the Renaissance Consortium was baseless.

In a statement signed by the Head, Public Affairs and Corporate Communication of the NUPRC, Mrs Olaide Shonola, the upstream regulator urged stakeholders and the general public to ignore the report by the newspaper.

According to the report titled: “Boon for Nigeria as Shell’s $1.3bn Assets Sale Gets Regulatory Nod”, the NUPRC had endorsed the deal and is now awaiting the final ministerial consent by President Bola Tinubu, who doubles as the Minister of Petroleum.

“The attention of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been drawn to a publication in the Businessday of September 11, 2024, purporting that the commission has accepted Shell International Plc’s bid to sell its onshore assets to Renaissance in a transaction worth $1.3 billion.

“It must be firmly stated that the information contained in the publication did not emanate from the commission. As part of the commission’s commitment to transparency and accountability, it will communicate its position on the transaction to the public at the appropriate time,” the statement stressed.

THISDAY reports that by purchasing all the shares in SPDC, Renaissance will on completion of the deal, control SPDC’s 30 per cent stake in the SPDC Joint Venture (JV), which consists of 15 oil mining leases for petroleum operations onshore and three leases for petroleum operations in shallow water in Nigeria.

“Industry stakeholders and the general public are advised to disregard the publication as it is baseless,” the statement by the NUPRC added.

On January 16, 2024, Shell announced an agreement to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), to Renaissance – a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria and an international energy group. 

The divestment of SPDC, the company said, aligned with Shell’s previously announced intent to exit onshore oil production in the Niger Delta and to focus future investment in Nigeria on our Deepwater and Integrated Gas positions.

Shell said it intends to remain a long-term partner of Nigeria, supporting the country’s growing energy needs and export ambitions in areas that are aligned with our strategy and where Shell has differentiated capability.

Renaissance is a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria – ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith – and the international energy group Petrolin.

The consortium, Shell said, brings significant experience in oil and gas exploration and production operations in Africa, including in the specific context of the Niger Delta where the four Nigeria-based partners all currently operate fields and associated assets and infrastructure.