A Nigerian oil company, Global Gas, has faulted the $2.4 billion acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria by Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings.
The company’s chairman, Kenneth Yellowe, expressed his displeasure in a statement made available to DAILY POST.
This comes as Renaissance on March 13 announced that it has completed the acquisition and renaming of Shell Nigeria.
However, Yellowe described the development as not only unacceptable and condemnable but also a direct affront to the Nigerian judiciary.
He accused Shell of acting in blatant disregard of a pending court case that had placed legal constraints on the sale. According to Global Gas, the sale violates an existing order from the Federal High Court in Suit No.: FH/ABJ/CS/413/2024, in which Global Gas had sued Shell and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) over the matter.
Yellowe also questioned the role of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the country’s regulator, in approving the controversial divestment.
“The leadership of Commission Chief Executive (CCE) Engr. Gbenga Komolafe sanctioned the sale despite a pending motion for injunction and a binding affidavit of undertaking filed in court.
“The affidavit, Global Gas argued, explicitly barred the regulatory agency from approving or facilitating any action affecting the subject of the lawsuit until its resolution.
“The company further stated that the affidavit affirmed NUPRC’s respect for the judicial process and contained an explicit commitment that no steps would be taken regarding the divestment until the case was heard and determined. Global Gas insists that by proceeding with the sale, NUPRC acted in bad faith, ignoring its own sworn undertaking before the court,” the statement noted.
The company claimed that it has been entangled in a twenty-year dispute with SPDC, during which its $500 million investment was trapped due to alleged obstruction by Shell. The company insists that it is currently in court seeking settlement and redress for its losses and cannot stand by while Shell proceeds with a sale that ignores ongoing legal proceedings.
The DAILY POST reports that Shell Nigeria was renamed Renaissance Africa after its complete acquisition.
In January, Shell agreed to sell its onshore oil production in Nigeria.
