Port Harcourt, Nigeria | – Nigeria’s Rivers state in the Niger Delta region has purchased Royal Dutch Shell’s stake in an oil mining licence in the restive Ogoniland, the state’s governor said on Monday.
The block under licence, OML 11, has been undeveloped for nearly 25 years, since the execution of regional activist Ken Saro-Wiwa under the Nigerian military government of Sani Abacha.
The field is among several onshore assets that Shell had been trying to sell in Nigeria. Talks with at least one potential buyer fell through due to the tense nature of community relations, sources told Reuters.
Rivers state governor Nyesom Wike said they had bid $150 million for the 45% stake in the asset.
The statement said OML 11 had the potential to produce 250,000
barrels per day (bpd). Nigeria currently produces roughly 2 million bpd of
crude oil and condensates daily.
Reuters.
