(Adds Shell comments)
TUNIS, May 5 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell has
informed Tunisian authorities it will hand back upstream
concessions and leave the country next year as it turns its
focus to renewable energy, Rania Marzouki a senior official in
the energy ministry, told Reuters.
Shell's departure will mean the Miskar concession in
southern city of Gabes will be handed back to the government,
she said, and Shell has also requested the early hand-back of
the Asdrubal permit, which expires in 2035.
Reuters quoted industry sources last month saying that Shell
had hired investment bank Rothschild & Co. to sell its Tunisian
assets, while Italy’s Eni had hired Lazard to run its own sale
and Austria’s OMV also planned to sell up.
"We can confirm that Shell Tunisia Upstream (Shell) will be
handing back the Miskar concession to the Government of Tunisia
upon licence expiry in June 2022," a spokesperson for Shell said
on Wednesday.
He added that the decision does not impact the ongoing brand
licence agreement in the country with Vivo Energy, which
distributes and markets Shell products to retail and commercial
customers in Africa. "Shell will continue to assess other
opportunities in Tunisia beyond the upstream sector," he said.
The gradual departure of major western energy companies from
Tunisia in recent years follows growing frustration with the
country’s unstable regulatory and political environment since
the 2011 revolution that has led to investments drying up.
(Reporting by Tarek Amara and Ron Bousso, Editing by Jane
Merriman and Elaine Hardcastle)
