Shell to offload onshore Nigerian oil assets in bid move to cleaner energy
Shell’s divestment could deal a fresh blow to the fiscal plan of the Nigerian government, about 90 per cent of whose revenue comes from oil, as it rebalances from the oil crash of 2020.
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Royal Dutch Shell will offload the last of its Nigerian assets in a move to rein back risks including sabotage attacks, crude thefts and litigations with host communities linked to operating in the turbulent investment climate of Africa’s largest oil producer and commit its future to cleaner energy elsewhere, the oil super-major said Tuesday.
I am one of those that strongly condemned the action of the minister of state for Petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva on grounds stated below. One, the minister cannot arbitrarily revoke or renew an Oil Prospecting or Mining License OPL/OML. Two, the minister does not have discretionary power to award or allocate a revoked OPL/OML3.The minister should put the interest of the nation first above the interest of any individual or company. Marginal fields allocation list approved by the President is questionable.
The contractor/operator signed a Joint Venture (JV) or Production Sharing Contract (PSC) agreement with NNPC not DPR. DPR can only revoke or renew a JV or PSC agreement on recommendation from NNPC. This process was neglected by the minister. If for the above reason the license is revoked, the Blocks OPL/OML shall go for competitive bidding to determine its true value. It’s economic sabotage to assign a block free without competitive bids especially Oil and Gas Producing Block.
Admittedly, these claims by the Dutch oil giant are verifiable facts but may not be the only explanation. Their clarification notwithstanding, there are indeed reasons that qualify such happening in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry as a reality that demands holistic analysis.
SPDC’s pipeline spills 276 barrels of crude in April – Report
Most of the spills were caused by sabotage, the report says.
The 14-inch crude trunk line operated by
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the Niger Delta region spilled 276 barrels of crude oil in three incidents in April, according to a report.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt on Monday that the 276 barrels of crude is the cumulative volume of spill from a section of the pipeline that transverses Bayelsa and Rivers communities during the period.
Checks at the oil firm’s spill incident portal indicated that two of the spills were caused by sabotage while one was traced to equipment failure.
Sir: The recent news report that the Okordia-Rumekpe 14-inch crude truck line operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) discharged some 213 barrels of crude oil into Ikarama community in Bayelsa, has again brought to our consciousness that though Nigeria prides itself as the giant of Africa and the most populous black nation in the world, yet, it is still riddled with third world challenges.
Essentially, while clarifying that an estimated 1.34 hectares of land was polluted by the leakage which followed a rupture on the pipeline, SPDC among other things confirmed that probe into the incident had been concluded, noting that out of the 213 barrels of SPDC’s bonny light crude stream leak, some 110 barrels are recoverable from the ongoing recovery exercise at the site, leaving an estimated spilled volume at 109.12 barrels.