The chairman of Heir Holdings, Tony Elumelu, is planning to buy two oil mining licenses operated by Shell Plc, according to Bloomberg reports which puts the licenses fee at about $2 billion.
Apart from oil mining licenses 11 and 17, Shell will also be selling a natural gas-fired power plant that would be managed by Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (Transcorp).
Selling both assets would mean that Shell would focus on its deepwater operations. The company has been affected by militant activities in the Niger Delta and accusations of environmental pollution.
OML 17 falls within the NNPC/Shell joint venture. There are 15 oil and gas fields, six of which are producing.
OML 11 is one of the largest blocks in southeastern Niger Delta and has 33 oil and gas fields, out of which eight fields were producing as at 2017.
The federal government split the block into three parts in April, giving Shell one portion, after the company sought to renew its production license.
According to the report, discussions between both parties have reached advanced stages in the past and experienced hurdles because Elumelu is yet to secure financing.
No deal has been reached at present.
