The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, has expressed confidence in the ability and commitment of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) to resolve outstanding issues surrounding Shell’s proposed sale of its onshore assets to the Renaissance consortium.

Verheijen noted that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration is dedicated to accelerating the strategic shift of international oil companies (IOCs) from onshore operations to a focus on deep offshore and gas businesses.

At the recent launch of the ‘1mmbopd’ project to mark NUPRC’s third anniversary, Commission Chief Executive Engr. Gbenga Komolafe disclosed the government’s approval of four divestment deals, including the ExxonMobil sale of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy.

In a virtual interview with journalists and analysts from 54 African nations, under the auspices of the African Association of Energy Journalists and Publishers (AJERAP), Verheijen stated, “Many divestment deals have been closed. There has been an accelerated rate of approvals for some of these deals. There is an improvement from what it used to be in the past. If you look at the level of approvals that have occurred and the speed at which they transpired, you will see that there is an improvement.”

She added, “There is one outstanding issue, and we remain confident in NUPRC’s regulatory process. Our objective is to accelerate exits for IOCs who wish to refocus on other areas, particularly the deep offshore and gas businesses.”

According to Verheijen, IOCs possess significant capital and technical expertise that can help unlock value in the complex deep offshore and gas sectors. For onshore players, she emphasized the need for independents to align with the goal of rapidly increasing production, ensuring they have the technical and financial capacity to do so.

She highlighted that President Tinubu has made substantial efforts to attract and retain investors in the energy sector through sound policies and appealing incentives.

Verheijen remarked, “When we took office, we noted a decline in investment, partly due to security challenges. The low investment was also influenced by fiscal incentives. We needed to reassess these aspects, including the revenue or profit share between the government and investors.”

She explained, “We aimed to rebalance and become more competitive compared to other investment destinations. We considered all operators, including international businesses, still interested in investing in Nigeria and advocated for ways to enhance our competitiveness.”