The UK oil and gas company Shell has completed the sale of its Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) to Nigeria’s Renaissance Group, 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). The US$2.4bntransaction includes onshore and shallow water assets previously owned by Shell. Renaissance now controls SPDC’s 30% stake in the SPDC JV, an unincorporated joint venture with the government-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, 55%), Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd (10%) and Agip Energy and Natural Resources Limited (5%).
Shell originally announced the sale in January 2024. However, in October 2024, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) had blocked the sale citing Renaissance’s inability demonstrate its ability to manage assets that hold approximately 6.73 Gbl and condensate of oil, and 56.3 tcf (1,593 bcm) of associated and non-associated natural gas. The Nigerian Oil Ministry finally approved the sale in late December 2024.