FG to reduce Joint Venture stake to 40% in 2019

The Nigerian government has concluded all plans to reduce its stake in Joint Ventures (JV) to 40 per cent this year, Nigeria’s Budget Minister, Udoma Udoma, has said.

Udoma in a statement said that the government will now speed up its efforts to improve its finances including the “immediate commencement of the restructuring of the joint venture oil assets so as to reduce government shareholding to 40 per cent.”

International oil companies such as Royal Dutch Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil are in JV agreement with Nigeria through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

NNPC owns a 55 per cent stake in its joint venture with Shell and 60 per cent stakes with other joint venture companies.

The debt office in 2017, had announced the government’s plan to raise N710 billion ($2.32 billion) through restructuring its equity in joint venture oil assets, which it said the proposal had been reflected in the 2018 budget.