Shell to sell off four more Nigeria oil blocks
BY MICHAEL EBOH & JONAH NWOKPOKU with Agency Report Shell plans to sell at least four more oil blocks in Nigeria due to increasing crude theft, oil spills, community challenges and its inability to renew the licenses of some of the fields. According to report, the blocks which are in joint ventures with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, are Oil Mining Licenses (OMLs) 13 and 16 onshore the Niger Delta, and OML 71 and 72, which are in shallow water. The report said, OML 13 and 16 lie in the Ogoniland region where Shell has experienced long-running disputes with local communities, multiple oil spills and widespread pipeline sabotage and theft. OML 13 covers a large geographical area and has big gas reserves, while OML 16 is a much smaller asset. The report further stated that OML 72 has proven oil reserves of around 120 million barrels, while OML 71 has significantly lower reserves. Sources said Shell has been discussing renewing these licenses with the Federal Govern...