Nigeria: NNPC cautions on Chevron sale

Nigeria’s state oil company warned investors yesterday that buyers of three shallow water oil blocks offered for sale by Chevron might lose the right to operate them. Chevron is selling minority stakes in joint ventures that operate five oil blocks. The majority owner is the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Nigeria wants more direct ownership of its oil and gas through the NNPC or local companies, leading several oil majors to dispose of assets. The NNPC published a notice yesterday warning that “automatic operatorship does not come with the acquisition of any of these blocks”. – Reuters