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Shell places $2.4b price for its Nigeria onshore business

Royal Dutch and British energy major, Shell, has agreed to sell its Nigerian onshore oil and gas subsidiary in Nigeria to a consortium of five mostly local companies for up to $2.4 billion, after nearly a century of operations there.

Active in the West African country since the 1930s, Shell has struggled for years with hundreds of oil spills at its onshore operations as a result of theft, sabotage and operational issues that led to costly repairs and high-profile lawsuits.

It has sought to sell its Nigerian oil and gas business since 2021, but will remain active in Nigeria's more lucrative and less problematic offshore sector.

Shell will sell its Nigeria arm, The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) for a consideration of $1.3 billion, it said in a statement, while the buyers will make an additional payment of up to $1.1 billion relating to prior receivables at completion.

Renaissance comprises ND Western, Aradel Energy, First E&P, Waltersmith, all local oil exploration and production companies, and Petrolin, a Swiss-based trading and investment company.

Shell's SPDC Limited operates and has a 30per cent stake in the SPDC joint venture that holds 18 onshore and shallow water mining leases.

SPDC will remain the operator.

Other partners in the joint venture (JV) are the state's Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which holds 55per cent, TotalEnergies (TTEF.PA), with 10per cent and Italy's Eni (ENI.MI) with five per cent.

Apart from its operations and stakes in several fields deep offshore, Shell also still has a liquefied natural gas plant and other assets in Nigeria.