“We Reject”: Workers Threaten Strike Over Planned Sale of Shell to Consortium

• Employees in the oil and gas sector have expressed opposition to the planned sale of Shell's onshore assets
• This followed report that the British energy giant is selling its Nigerian onshore oil and gas division
• The workers claim the organization is a conglomerate of unnamed businesses with no history of successfully overseeing assets

Legit.ng journalist Zainab Iwayemi has over 3-year-experience covering the Economy, Technology, and Capital Market

Workers in the oil and gas industry have opposed the proposed sale of Shell's onshore assets, stating that they are unaware of the entity purchasing the assets.

As a result, they have issued a nationwide notice of strike for its members.

Lumumba Okugbawa, Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN)’s general secretary said this in a statement titled 'Position of on the planned sale of Shell Onshore Assets'

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This came after Legit.ng reported that after almost a century of operations, the British energy giant Shell has decided to sell its Nigerian onshore oil and gas division for up to $2.4 billion to a consortium of five primarily local businesses.

The group consists of ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings Plc, The Petrolin Group, First Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited, and Waltersmith Group.

A group of unknown entities

Speaking through PENGASSAN, the employees said that the alleged organization is a collection of unidentified companies that have no track record of effectively managing such a wide range of assets.

The statement read in part,

“Having appraised the situation, reviewed the presentation, and carried out preliminary findings, we wish to state as follows: The group is unknown to us, and thus, it’s an assemblage of unknown entities with no proven track record in managing such diverse assets.

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Workers reject deal

Okugbawa alleged that one of the companies that made up the assemblage has a history of subjugating workers and subjecting them to untold hardship, as exemplified in the current management of OML 34.

It stated,

“We reject without equivocation all the terms affecting employees that were communicated in the presentation to our members.

“Another company in the group has a penchant for preventing workers from unionising and thus stiffening their condition of services.

It added that members would resort to stiff resistance should the deal continue without the issue being resolved.

It added that the group must come clean with its intention and be ready to have serious engagement with the Association and not "the jamboree that Shell Management is currently engaging in."

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Legit.ng reported that Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria has reacted to its rumoured plan to leave Nigeria after selling its onshore business.

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Legit.ng reported that Shell announced it had reached an agreement with Renaissance Africa Energy to take over its oil business in Niger Delta.

The announcement triggered reactions on various social media platforms, with many Nigerians expressing the opinion that Shell was leaving the country after active service since 1937.

Source: Legit.ng