Shell Nigeria announced on 15 January it had completed a $533 million sale of its stakes in an onshore OML 17 oil field in Nigeria to African strategic investor Heirs Holdings, Nigeria’s largest publicly listed conglomerate.
The deal is one of the largest oil and gas financings in Africa in more than a decade, with a financing component of $1.1 billion provided by a consortium of global and regional banks and investors.
Heirs Holdings, in partnership with Transcorp, one of the largest power producers in Nigeria with 2000 MW of installed capacity, purchased 45% stake in the field. It acquired the stakes of Shell, Total, and Eni to further its expansion into the oil and gas industry.
“We have a very clear vision: creating Africa’s first integrated energy multinational, a global quality business, uniquely focused on Africa and Africa’s energy needs,” said Heirs Holdings Chairman Tony Elumelu, named among Time magazine’s “100 Most Influential People of 2020.”
“We see significant benefits from integrating our production with our ability to power Nigeria, through Transcorp, and deliver value across the energy value chain,” he added.
The OML 17 field has production capacity of 27,000 BOE/D and estimated reserves of 1.2 billion BOE. TNOG Oil and Gas will operate the asset.