The Managing Director (MD) and Country Chair of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Osagie Okunbor, has said that the firm will remain in Nigeria for the long term.
Okunbor confirmed Shell’s continued presence in Nigeria, despite the company’s planned divestment of its onshore assets at the 30th Nigerian Economic Summit (#NES30) in Abuja on Tuesday.
“Shell is in Nigeria for the long term. We are not going away, we are re-balancing our portfolio from the on-shore, while we focus on and invest much more in our deepwater operations,” Okunbor declared.
“I repeat it that Shell is not leaving Nigeria. We are not going anywhere, and we will be together for a long time.”
According to Okunbor, while Shell would be divesting its onshore assets to a consortium of four companies, it is still fully focused on deepwater operations, where it has a technological and financial edge.
The company, which has deep investments in the country, is currently spending $5 billion on a single deep offshore project.
The Shell MD speaking on the sidelines of #NES30 added that such investments only go to show the company’s commitment to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
