Shell said Tuesday that it had agreed to sell its onshore oil and gas business in Nigeria to a group dominated by local companies for $1.3 billion.
The transaction is an effort by Europe’s largest energy company to reduce its risks in the country that is Africa’s largest oil producer. Nigeria has long been a cornerstone for Shell, but also the source of a damaging legal and environmental legacy.
Specifically, Shell said it would sell its Nigerian subsidiary, which owns 30 percent of a joint venture that operates a vast maze of wells and pipelines and other installations in the swampy Niger Delta. Other partners in the joint venture include Nigeria’s state oil company, which has a 55 percent stake, and France’s TotalEnergies.
Shell will continue its offshore energy drilling in Nigeria, as well as its liquefied natural gas operations there.
Shell has long been considered the most…
