LAGOS, Oct 10 (Reuters) - Shell Nigeria is puttingup for sale four onshore Niger Delta oil blocks with a combinedproduction of around 70,000 barrels per day (bpd), two industrysources said on Thursday, the latest move by an oil major todivest assets from the area.
Shell is one of several oil majors selling off fields in theswampy delta, where production on some fields is peaking andoperations are plagued by rampant oil theft and fraughtcommunity relations owing partly to frequent spills.
It plans to sell oil mining licenses (OMLs) 18, 24, 25 and29, the sources said. The Anglo-Dutch company said in June thatit planned a strategic review of its eastern delta assets.
Shell Nigeria spokesman Precious Okolobo said that "thereview is ongoing and therefore we are not in a position toconfirm which, if any, blocks may be put up for sale."
"Nigeria remains an important part of Shell's portfolio,where we will continue to have a significant onshore presence inoil and gas," he added in an emailed response to Reuters.
Since 2010 Nigeria has had a policy of encouraging moredirect ownership of its oil and gas by Nigerians, either throughthe state oil company or local private firms. That has raisedconcerns among foreign oil majors they may lose smaller assetsif they do not sell now, industry experts say.
Four years after militant attacks against oil companies inthe delta ended with an amnesty, they remain a major target foroil thieves, whom Chatham House says stole 100,000 barrels a dayin the first quarter of this year.
U.S.-based Chevron Corp is considering bids thisweek from prospective buyers of three oil blocks in the deltawith total reserves of around 134 million barrels.
Africa's biggest oil producer usually pumps 2 million to 2.5million barrels per day of oil, most of which is exported.
