Nigeria Approves Shell’s $2.4 Billion Asset Sale to Renaissance Group.
Nigeria’s oil minister has approved Shell Plc’s $2.4 billion sale of onshore and shallow-water oil and gas assets in the Niger Delta to the Renaissance Group. This approval, announced by Renaissance, follows an earlier rejection by the Nigerian government two months ago, marking a significant step forward for Shell as it seeks to divest its West African oil holdings.
The sale includes assets with an estimated volume of 6.73 billion barrels of oil and condensate, alongside 56.27 trillion cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas. Shell’s move to exit Nigeria’s onshore sector comes amid ongoing challenges in the region, including oil spills and theft.
The approval aligns with similar asset divestments in Nigeria’s energy sector, such as Exxon Mobil’s sale of its onshore oil and gas assets to a local energy supplier and Norwegian giant Equinor ASA’s recent transfer of its Nigerian subsidiary to Chappal Energy.
The decision coincides with Shell’s announcement of a final investment decision on the Bonga North deepwater project, a major development off Nigeria’s coast. The project, a subsea tie-back to the existing Bonga floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility, represents Nigeria’s first significant deepwater oil initiative in years.
Bonga North, in which Shell holds a 55% operating interest, also involves Exxon Mobil’s Esso Exploration & Production (20%), TotalEnergies (12.5%), and Nigerian Agip Exploration (12.5%). The development is expected to yield over 300 million barrels of oil equivalent, with peak production reaching 110,000 barrels per day by the end of the decade.
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The project encompasses drilling 16 wells—eight production and eight water-injection—along with the installation of new subsea hardware tied to the Bonga FPSO and modifications to the existing facility. The approval of the asset sale and progress on the Bonga North project reflect renewed momentum in Nigeria’s oil sector, with a focus on both resource monetization and advancing offshore developments.
