News
Shell Hires Standard Chartered for Sale of SPDC, Major Divestment in Nigeria
Royal Dutch Shell has launched a major divestment of its Nigerian assets, several sources familiar with the matter said.
Shell has hired Standard Chartered to sell its Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) subsidiary, two of the sources said.
SPDC operates the company’s shallow-water and onshore asset interests via its 30% interest in the SPDC joint venture, which supplies around 10% of Nigeria’s gas demand.
Sale documents were issued earlier this week and expressions of interest (EOIs) are due by 10 September, the other source said.
The vendor is asking for non-binding offers in the subsequent second phase, this source said.
Shell is selling the business because it no longer views its activities in the Niger Delta as core to its ongoing strategy, which is driven by the ESG pressure from its investors, both sources said, and as intimated by its CEO earlier this year.
Also, several of the oil mining leases (OMLs) have upcoming development costs, which Shell does not intend to fund, one of the sources added.
It will still retain its deepwater assets in the country, this source added.
The business will be worth several billions of dollars, this source said. Shell will want full-value offers for the business but is strategically driven in this disposal and will likely prefer low execution risk to waiting for a knockout offer, this source said.
It is very likely too large for any single acquiror, this and a third source, and a banker following the deal said.
The valuation will ultimately be derived from different views on the separate assets — the shallow-water fields, the onshore fields and the infrastructure, for which there could be separate buyers, one of the sources said.
Alternatively, Shell may sell portions of equity in the whole of SPDC to different consortia of buyers, this source said.
Either way, buyers will need to have a local Nigerian element, this and another of the sources said.
The assets in the Niger Delta region are plagued with security issues and would, in particular, need a very local participant and lender, one of the sources said.
Private equity would struggle with this associated risk and with the expected necessary investment in the portfolio, this source said.
Public-listed companies would struggle to raise equity to execute the deal, given the ESG-derived sentiment for oil and gas in the public markets, this source said. Local sponsors may be interested, but this would constitute a very transformational deal, and would need significant lender support, this source said.
An international, private group with operating expertise, for example Perenco, or a Chinese player might make most sense, this source said.
Shell and Standard Chartered declined to comment.
The SPDC JV is co-owned with Eni [BIT:ENI] via its NOAC subsidiary with 5%, TotalEnergies [EPA:FP] via its Total E&P Nigeria subsidiary with 10%, and Nigeria’s national oil company NNPC with the remaining 55%.
The joint venture owns 360 producing oil wells, 60 producing gas well, and a network of 4,000 kilometres of oil and gas pipelines and flowlines, Shell’s website notes.
On 15 January this year, SPDC completed the sale of its 30% interest in OML 17 in the Eastern Niger Delta, and associated infrastructure, to TNOG Oil and Gas Ltd, a related company of Heirs Holdings Ltd and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc, for a consideration of USD 533m.
In 2020, output from the SPDC JV, together with Shell’s SNEPCo subsidiary, fell from the record highs of 2019 but, at around 620kbpd of oil equivalent remained close to the five-year average of 625,000.
Nigeria is becoming an increasingly difficult jurisdiction in which to operate, a sector advisor following the sale said. Poor engagement by the government with international energy majors is driving many away, and this is further exacerbated by recent legislation such as the Nigerian Petroleum Bill, this advisor noted.
Shell first announced its plans to sell down its Nigerian onshore interests during its annual general meeting in May. “We have been reviewing positions that continue to be challenged from an environmental perspective … and a particular point of attention has been onshore oil in Nigeria,” its CEO Ben van Buerden said.
“Over the last 10 years we have reduced the total number of licences in onshore Nigeria by half. But unfortunately, our remaining onshore oil operations continue to be subject to sabotage and theft … This means that the balance of risk and reward associated with our onshore oil portfolio in Nigeria is no longer compatible with our strategic ambitions. Because of this, we have started discussions with the Nigerian government to align on a way to move forward.”
“We’ve drawn that conclusion, and we’re now talking to the Nigerian government on the way forward.”
Union Bank of Nigeria has secured certification under the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) version 4.0.1, a global standard for protecting payment card data.
The certification took effect on August 11, 2026, confirming that the bank’s systems for storing, processing and transmitting customers’ credit and debit card information meet stringent international security requirements.
PCI DSS certification is designed to reduce the risk of payment card data breaches and financial fraud while strengthening customer confidence in electronic payment systems.
The assessment covered key areas of Union Bank’s operations, including network infrastructure, card issuance, ATM and POS transactions, payment processing, reconciliation, settlement, chargebacks, dispute resolution and retail banking.
Union Bank was assessed and certified under the Service Provider category.
The certification process lasted a full year and involved quarterly assessments, with support from departmental, business and functional heads across the bank. Digital security firm Digital Encode supported the process, while the final independent audit was conducted by CyberCube, an accredited Qualified Security Assessor.
Yetunde B. Oni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Union Bank, said the certification demonstrates the bank’s commitment to protecting customer information.
“The security of our customers’ information is central to everything we do at Union Bank. This certification reaffirms that our payment systems and processes meet a rigorous global standard, and it reflects the discipline of colleagues across the Bank who work every day to keep customer data safe.”
The renewal also ensures that Union Bank maintains continuous PCI DSS certification, in line with the Central Bank of Nigeria’s requirement for banks to sustain compliance without interruption.
New data from CFA Society Nigeria is reshaping how the country’s financial sector thinks about talent development, with Access emerging as the single largest source of CFA candidates in Nigeria, distinction industry watchers say signals a deeper shift in how leading institutions are building investment expertise from within.
In its Where Nigeria’s Finance Professionals Work series, published in a national daily, CFA Society Nigeria placed Access first among employers of CFA candidates nationwide, with 82 candidates enrolled in the programme, more than double the 38 recorded at the next-placed institution and well ahead of every other bank or financial services firm on the list.
Access also ranked second among employers of CFA charterholders, with 11 professionals who have completed all three levels of the Programme and met its experience and ethics requirements.
For an industry that has long measured itself by balance sheet size and branch count, the rankings point to a different kind of competition: one over who is building the deepest bench of certified, globally credentialed talent.
CFA Society Nigeria compiled the data from its Salesforce Membership Database as at June 2026, and described the exercise as a way of recognising employers whose people “bring rigour, integrity and global best practices into the workplace every day.”
Analysts following the sector say the outcome is notable less for the ranking itself than for what it suggests about talent strategy across Africa’s financial services industry. A single institution developing more aspiring charterholders than the rest of the market combined raises the floor for professional standards nationally, not just within one balance sheet.
Every candidate who advances through the CFA Programme adds to a shared pool of ethics-trained, analytically rigorous professionals that Nigeria’s capital markets, pension funds and asset managers all eventually draw from.
Access Holdings Group Chief Executive Officer Innocent C. Ike, commenting on the rankings, framed the achievement in terms of institution-building rather than recruitment: “Every candidate on that list represents our commitment to building institutions and professionals that endure.”
The remark echoes a broader thesis increasingly voiced by market observers, that talent depth, not scale alone, is what will determine which African financial institutions earn lasting global credibility.
That distinction sits at the centre of Access’s stated ambition to become the World’s Most Respected African Financial Services Group. If the CFA numbers are any indication, the Group’s route to that goal runs less through square metres of branch network and more through the calibre of the people sitting inside it, a bet that Nigeria’s finance professionals, and the institutions that will one day hire them, are already placing alongside Access.
Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) has announced plans to introduce Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) baggage tracking technology across domestic and international airport terminals to tackle the growing problem of delayed, misrouted and missing luggages
Michael Achimugu, director, Public Affairs and Consumer Protection, NCAA, disclosed this at a stakeholder engagement forum in Lagos.
Achimugu said the RFID-enabled system would replace the traditional barcode-based baggage tracking framework and provide airlines and passengers with real-time visibility of checked luggage from check-in to final collection.
According to him, the technology would improve baggage traceability, reduce mishandling and strengthen accountability across the baggage-handling chain.
Unlike conventional barcode systems, RFID technology allows baggage to be automatically scanned at multiple points without requiring direct line of sight, enabling real-time tracking of luggage throughout its journey.
Achimugu said issues involving short-landed, missing, lost or damaged baggage had remained among the major complaints from air travellers, alongside flight delays.
He said the introduction of RFID technology was therefore aimed at improving baggage-handling standards and restoring passenger confidence in the aviation sector.
The NCAA said the initiative also aligns with IATA Resolution 753, which requires airlines to track baggage at key points during the passenger journey.
The authority expects the technology to provide more accurate information on the location of luggage, facilitate quicker resolution of baggage-related complaints and improve the overall passenger experience.
The NCAA said the initiative would also strengthen accountability among airlines and other stakeholders involved in baggage handling at Nigerian airports.
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