* Deals signed for all four onshore oilfields, pipeline
* Shell, partners sell OML 18 to Canadian firm (Adds details, quotes, background)
By Ron Bousso
LONDON, Oct 21 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell hassigned sales agreements for all the Nigerian oil assets it putup for sale following a 2013 review of its business in the WestAfrican country, a spokesman said on Tuesday.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major, like many of its peers, iscarrying out a major cost-cutting drive. It has opted to moveaway from Nigerian onshore oil production, which is plagued bymassive oil theft, security problems and oil spills and is alsobecoming a major source of legal liabilities.
The assets include Shell's 30 percent stake in oil miningleases (OML) 18, 24, 25, 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunk Line(NCTL), the country's main onshore pipeline.
The company also said that, together with its partners Total and Eni, it had signed an agreement to selltheir 45 percent stake in OML 18 to a consortium led by Canadianoil and gas company Mart Resources. The remaining shareof the oil field is owned by Nigeria's national oil company.
Mart confirmed it had entered into an agreement for theacquisition of OML 18, whose production it said ranged between20,000 to 30,000 barrels per day from around 30 wells.
The value of the deals was not disclosed. In August, theFinancial Times reported that Shell was close to selling theoilfields for about $5 billion to domesticbuyers.
The sale process "has not yet fully concluded but we canconfirm that we have now signed sales and purchase Agreementsfor these Oil Mining Leases and the NCTL", a Shell spokesmansaid.
"Nigeria remains an important part of Shell's portfolio,where we will continue to have a significant onshore presence inoil and gas, and which has clear growth potential, particularlyin deep-water and onshore gas," he added.
In March, Reuters reported that Nigerian firms Taleveras andAiteo had made the highest bid of $2.85 billion for OML 29, thebiggest of the four oil fields. A senior Nigerian oil executivesaid a consortium headed by Pan Ocean Oil Corporation had bidfor OML 24 at a price of about $1 billion.
Shell's shares were up 3.073 percent at 2,613.5 pence at theclose of London trading. (Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Pravin Char)
