The FT states: “Shell’s phlegmatic chief executive Ben van Beurden will need to hold his nose when he takes the money…” and in a related article, describes Shell’s actions as a “retreat from the Niger Delta” (triggered in part by militancy, violence and bunkering).
By John Donovan
The global firesale of Shell assets continues with the sale of four oil fields in Nigeria for $5 billion.
The FT states: Shell’s phlegmatic chief executive Ben van Beurden will need to hold his nose when he takes the money…“ and in a related article, describes Shell’s actions as a “retreat from the Niger Delta” (apparently triggered in part by militancy, violence and bunkering).
Extract from latter article:
“…a militant uprising in the Niger Delta last decade led to severe supply disruptions, and though the worst of the violence has subsided, criminal gangs continue to cause havoc, siphoning off huge volumes of oil from the pipelines that criss-cross the delta.”
Information about the sale by Shell and its partners, Total and Eni, is vague.
A Shell spokesman said: “We have signed sales & purchase agreements for some of the Oil Mining Leases, but not all that we are seeking to divest.”
However, according to Reuters, no details were available on the value of the deals signed, nor when the full process will be completed.
As Rupert Hargreaves correctly points out in a Motley Fool article: “Shell has already sold $8bn worth of underperforming assets so far this year and there are more sales to come. That being said, the group continues to struggle within North America, where Shell has found it hard to compete with local producers.”
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