‘Our pipeline project will not lack gas supply’
LAGOS/LONDON, Jan 29 (Reuters) – Shell’s exit from Nigeria’s onshore oil sector highlights risks oil majors face in Africa’s biggest exporter but has raised hopes that local firms could reverse the output decline from the Niger Delta, industry officials and analysts said.
Shell – which pioneered Nigeria’s oil industry – is the most prominent Western company to exit the Delta, a region blighted by pollution, oil theft and pipeline vandalism. Those issues have for years stymied investment – and throttled production and government finances.
ANALYSTS have said that SHELL’s exit from the Nigerian onshore oil business will attract varying consequences for indigenous firms and the country’s foreign exchange market.
The Nigerian oil and gas upstream market are anticipated to register a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 2.0% during the period from 2021 to 2026. As of January 2021, the offshore and onshore rig count experienced a significant reduction in the country due to project scarcity and the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Equinor, Exxon Mobil, Shell, and other oil majors have sold or are planning to sell their Nigerian assets to local companies.
The divestment trend, which has accelerated in recent years, is attributed to concerns over security in the Niger Delta and a global push towards cleaner energy.
Critics argue that these divestments may not lead to better environmental practices, as local companies taking over might have less stringent emissions controls.
Tinubu hits it with TotalEnergies as French giant pledges $6 billion in Nigeria oil, gas investments
TotalEnergies reaffirmed its commitment to business interests in Nigeria, the French company said, adding that its head Patrick Pouyanne had met Nigeria President Bola Tinubu in Abuja on Monday.
(MENAFN) A noteworthy transformation has quietly unfolded in Nigeria’s oil industry over the past year, marked by the exodus of international oil companies from various parts of their operations within the country. The latest development came at the end of last month when Norwegian oil company Equinor finalized the sale of its Nigerian entity to the relatively unknown local firm, Chabal Energy. This move signified the conclusion of Equinor’s three-decade-long association with Africa’s largest oil producer.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has said that Nigeria is currently championing the decarbonisation of its upstream operations, as a critical tool to sustain investments for energy security and economic development for the benefit of Nigerians in line with national aspirations and consistent with the sustainable development goals of the United nations.
Reuters: OPEC’s crude oil production dropped in November for the first monthly decline since July.
OPEC produced 27.81 million barrels per day of crude last month, a drop of 90,000 bpd compared to October.
In November, Iran, which is exempted from the OPEC+ cuts, further increased its output to a five-year high, according to the Reuters survey.
The federal government is planning to revoke unused oil exploration leases that companies were granted but have not been able to carry out any exploration activities on them.