The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has clarified that it has not yet finalized Shell’s proposed sale of its onshore assets to Renaissance, despite recent media reports suggesting otherwise.
According to The PUNCH, a statement from the Head of Public Affairs and Corporate Communication at NUPRC, Olaide Shonola, on Wednesday, evealed that the commission has not reached a decision on the transaction valued at $1.3 billion.
The clarification comes in response to a newspaper report (not from The PUNCH) which claimed that the NUPRC had approved Shell’s bid to divest its onshore assets to Renaissance.
Shonola emphasized that this report did not originate from the commission and urged the public to disregard it.
“The information contained in the publication did not emanate from the commission,” Shonola asserted. He also stated that the NUPRC will make an official announcement regarding the transaction when appropriate. “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,” Shonola added.
The NUPRC’s statement is a response to ongoing speculation about Shell’s planned divestment.
Earlier in 2024, Shell announced its intention to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited to Renaissance—a consortium consisting of four Nigerian exploration and production firms and an international energy group.
The completion of this transaction is contingent on approvals from the Federal Government of Nigeria and other regulatory conditions.
The SPDC joint venture, which includes Shell’s 30 percent stake, is a partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (55 percent), Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd (which sold its 10 percent stake to Chappal Energies), and NigSale’s 5 percent interest. The deal remains incomplete pending the requisite approvals and regulatory reviews.