Yemisi Izuora
Italy’s oil major, Eni SpA, is intending to rid part or all of its onshore Nigerian operations as it seeks to divest peripheral businesses in Nigeria.
Oil price drop and restiveness in its operational areas may have informed the decision.
Bloomberg report says Eni has asked advisers to look at alternatives for the assets, which include interests in oil and natural-gas fields in Nigeria.
Depending on what Eni decides to sell, the transaction may raise from $2 billion to $5 billion, the report quoted un-named source.
It could also decide to keep the operations, the source said, even as a representative for the company declined to comment.
Oil companies, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Chevron Corp., are selling fields as they scale back Nigerian operations following unrest, violence and the theft of crude in the Niger delta.
Nigeria’s daily output of about 2 million barrels of oil makes it Africa’s largest producer.
Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi has announced plans to sell assets worth €8 billion ($8.8 billion) in 2015-2018, including shares in subsidiaries Galp Energia SGPS and Snam SpA.
He also proposed a 17 percent cut in investment over the same four years compared to previous plans to adjust to lower prices.
Eni’s wholly owned subsidiary in the country, Nigerian Agip Oil Co., operates under a joint-venture agreement with Nigeria’s state oil company NNPC and ConocoPhillips while NAOC also operates two onshore exploration licenses.
The company said in July that twelve people died and three were injured in an explosion during repair work at its crude oil pipeline in Nigeria.