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PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Shell will focus its future investments in Nigeria on natural gas fordomestic consumption and export, the managing director of theoil major's joint venture in the country said on Wednesday.
"Our strategy is to invest a lot more in gas, for domesticconsumption and export. We want to grow our deep water andconstrain our onshore oil production," Osagie Okunbor toldreporters in Port Harcourt, the country's oil hub.
Shell has been divesting onshore oil-producing assets forthe last few years and completed another set near the end ofMarch.
The sales are part of an effort to move away from onshoreoil projects in Nigeria, which are plagued by industrial scaletheft, security problems and pipeline spills, which have becomea growing legal liability.
Okunbor added that Shell's flagship project would be theGbaran-Ubie project, which will increase gas supplies for theBonny liquefied natural gas (LNG) export terminal. A first phasebegan production in 2010.
Bonny is Nigeria's only LNG export terminal. (Reporting by Julia Payne; Editing by Pravin Char and AdrianCroft)