Nigeria warns oil block buyers could lose operating rights

Nigeria's state oil company warned investors interested in three shallow water oil blocks offered for sale by Chevron that buyers may lose the right to operate them. U.S.-based Chevron is selling minority stakes in joint ventures that operate five oil blocks. The majority owner is the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Nigeria wants more direct ownership of its oil and gas through NNPC or local firms, leading several oil majors including Chevron to dispose of assets in Africa's top oil and gas producer. NNPC published a notice in local newspapers saying that there had been a "recent high level of interest shown by various investors in the ongoing divestment program for OMLs 52, 53 and 55 by Chevron Nigeria". It reminded those considering investing that, although Chevron currently operates the blocks, the state oil firm has the right to take over the operatorship as majority shareholder. Chevron owns 40 percent of the blocks and NNPC 60 percent. "Chevron shall cease to be the operator upon assignment of their participating interest," it said. "Therefore prospective buyers should note that automatic operatorship does not come with the acquisition of any of these blocks." Not having operatorship poses significant risks for would be investors in the fields, not least that the NNPC's development subsidiary, NPDC, lacks the finance and expertise. It has usually had to call in a third-party operator anyway. The notice seemed calculated to avoid messy tussles that ensued when Shell sold some oil blocks two years ago.

Chevron to Sell 40% Stake in Two Oil Blocks

Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) will be selling its 40 per cent stake in two Nigerian shallow water oil blocks in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 83 and 85. Chevron has 40 per cent interest in the two blocks.

The two blocks OML 83 and OML 85 hold an estimated 200 million barrels of oil and an unknown amount of natural gas but there has been no production yet. Chevron did not give details of reserves. The planned sale follows several oil majors’ sale of assets onshore or in the shallow waters of the Niger Delta over the past few years.

Oil industry analysts believe that the slow pace of deliberation in the passage of the PIB amongst all these other factors, have added to a growing uncertainty in the country’s oil and gas industry.

Joint owners, Royal Dutch Shell, Italy's Eni and France's Total, have sold several oil blocks in the oil-bearing region, while eventual buyers of these included UK-listed firms Heritage Oil and Eland Oil.

Chinese-owned Addax has also said it was interested in buying more Nigerian oil assets in addition to what it has already.

Chevron's blocks are at the exploratory stage, unlike Shell's already producing fields, which will make valuations less straightforward, one banking source said.

Chevron owns a 40 per cent stake in 13 shallow water blocks with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and also has several deep offshore assets.  Its 2012 net daily production in Nigeria averaged 238,000 barrels of crude oil and 165 million cubic feet of natural gas.

It is the third-largest oil producer in Nigeria and one of its largest investors, spending more than $3 billion annually. It operates under a joint-venture arrangement with NNPC and has assets on land, swamp and near-offshore concessions covering approximately 2.2 million acres (8,900 sq. km) in the Niger Delta region.

Three IOCs sell 7 Oil Blocks for $2.57bn

Over the last two years; Shell, Total and Eni (Agip) have sold their stake in a jointly held stake in seven oil blocks for $2.569 billion (N411.04 billion).

The multinationals were said to have sold a 45-per-cent stake in the seven oil concessions in five transactions. The oil blocks, which are now operated by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the upstream subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), were acquired by local companies alongside their foreign partners. They are Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 3, 38, 41, 26, 42, 30 and 34.

Following growing attack on their facilities by militants in the Niger Delta between 2007 and 2009, the IOCs embarked on a divestment programme to sell some of their onshore assets in the region.

Seplat Petroleum Development Company, in partnership with French-based Maurel and Prom, paid $386 million to acquire OMLs 3, 38 and 41, while First Hydro Carbon Nigeria, alongside AFREN as foreign partners, bought OML 26 for $148 million. Neconde Energy Limited and its foreign partners, Kulczyk Oil Ventures, paid $585 million for OML 42, while OMLs 30 and 34 were acquired by Shoreline and Niger Delta Exploration and Production Plc (NDEP) at $850 million and $600 million, respectively. Shoreline was partnered by Heritage, while NDEP acquired its block with the Petrolin Group.

Japanese Firm to Acquire Angola Oilfield Stake from Total

Japan's top oil and gas explorer Inpex Corp has agreed to acquire a 9.99% stake in Angola's offshore oilfield block 14 from France's Total. The deal is subject to the Angolan government's approval. Block 14 is producing crude oil at a rate of about 160,000 barrels per day.