Shell has reached an agreement to sell its Nigerian onshore subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), to Renaissance, a consortium of five companies comprising four exploration and production companies based in Nigeria (namely ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, and Waltersmith) and an international energy group (Petrolin). Shell will sell its Nigerian subsidiary for US$2.4bn, with a first US$1.3bn payment followed by additional payments of up to US$1.1bn relating to prior receivables at completion. Completion of the transaction is subject to approvals by the Federal Government of Nigeria and other conditions.
Through SPDC, Shell owns a 30% stake in the SPDC joint venture, along with the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, 55%), Total (10%) and Nigeria Agip Oil Company (5%).
In 2021, SPDC represented 12% of Nigeria’s oil production and 21% of the country’s gas production. The production of oil and gas in Nigeria was historically dominated by five companies (Shell, TotalEnergies, Chevron, ExxonMobil, and Eni) but their share has been decreasing in recent years as the share of local companies in the country’s production has been increasing.