Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited announced that it has obtained ministerial approval to acquire Shell Petroleum Development Company.
In January, Shell disclosed its agreement to sell its Nigerian onshore oil assets to Renaissance Africa for over $1.3 billion, pending regulatory approvals.
These assets reportedly contain approximately 6.73 billion barrels of oil and condensate, along with 56.27 trillion cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas reserves.
Renaissance Africa is a consortium comprising ND Western, Aradel Energy, First Exploration & Production, Waltersmith, and Petrolin.
However, on October 21, the federal government announced approvals for other divestment transactions, but the Shell-Renaissance deal failed to meet regulatory requirements.
NUPRC’s CEO, Gbenga Komolafe, explained that the commission rejected the transaction because it did not pass regulatory compliance checks.
Concerns over Shell Nigeria’s unresolved lawsuits and allegations of human rights abuses and environmental degradation in the Niger Delta have also complicated the deal.
NUPRC stated that it would only approve the sale if Shell commits to addressing oil spill liabilities and funds cleanup initiatives in the Niger Delta.
Renaissance Africa, however, provided an update, confirming that President Bola Tinubu, acting as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, has approved the deal.
“The Minister of Petroleum Resources has granted approval for the sale of Shell Petroleum Development Company to Renaissance,” Renaissance announced in a statement.
The consortium emphasized that the approval marks progress from the initial announcement of the Sale and Purchase Agreement in January 2024.
On October 30, the president’s special adviser on energy, Olu Verheijen, assured that issues surrounding Shell’s proposed sale of its onshore assets to Renaissance would soon be resolved.
In October, the federal government also approved four other divestment deals involving Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, and the Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited.
