UK oil and gas major Shell recently finalised the sale of one of its subsidiaries in Nigeria. The British multinational is an international operator for the oil industry but also provides a wide range of lubrication products that include gear oil, cutting fluid, coolant and food safe oils for the food manufacturing industry.
Completion of the deal saw Shell UK sell the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria to a consortium called Nigeria’s Renaissance Group. The buyer consists of four different companies based in Nigeria that focus on natural resource exploration and oil and gas production. Group members include ND Western, First E&P, Waltersmith Petroleum & Oil Ltd and Aradel Energy and Petrolin, a global energy entity.
The recent transaction is valued at $2.4 billion and includes shallow water and onshore assets that were previously under Shell ownership.
The Renaissance Group now controls the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria’s 30 per cent stake in SPDC JV. This is an “unincorporated joint venture” in partnership with Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (10 per cent) the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (55 per cent) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Ltd (5 per cent).
The sale was originally announced at the beginning of 2024 in a Shell press release; however, later in the year, the sale was blocked. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission stated that Renaissance could not demonstrate its capacity to manage the assets.
The sale was eventually approved by the Nigerian Oil Ministry and has now reached completion.
