American oil giant, Chevron, has launched the sale of its stakes in two Nigerian offshore oil and gas blocks. The company said it is seeking to dispose of aging assets in Nigeria to focus on its fast-growing United States production.
Chevron is offering its 40 per cent stake in the shallow-water Oil Mining Lease (OML) 86 and OML 88, which produce about 6,200 barrels of oil equivalent per day, the company said.
According to Reuters, the sale is also part of a broader retreat by international oil companies from Nigerian oil and gas fields that have been plagued by pipeline theft as well as uncertainty.
READ ALSO: http://Violence, rigging, conspiracy, and the Bayelsa governorship election
Chevron tried and failed to sell the two blocks in 2015, when global deal-making in oil and gas dropped sharply following a collapse in oil prices the previous year.
OML 86 and 88 contain 55 million barrels of yet-to-be exploited (2P) oil barrels and 2.8 trillion cubic feet of undeveloped gas reserves, the document says.
Foreign oil companies including Chevron, Royal Dutch Shell and Exxon Mobil have retreated in recent years from onshore and shallow-water production in Nigeria due to oil theft, selling assets mostly to local companies.
