Shell Petroleum Directors Meet Tinubu Over Investments After ExxonMobil Visit

President Bola Tinubu and a delegation from the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) met over Nigerian investments and his government’s policy reforms.

Tinubu told the Shell Petroleum delegation, led by the firm’s global upstream director, Zoe Yujnovich, that his administration’s policies will be consistent.

He spoke about the role of the policies, which includes the removal of fuel subsidy and unification of the multiple exchange rates, on the business environment in Nigeria.

The president promised to make Nigeria a business-friendly environment for investments, as it’s vital to the government’s goal of developing the country. 

The special adviser to the president on special duties, communication, and strategy, Dele Alake, made this known in a statement released about the meeting held on Monday.

“We are open for business. We are serious. I give you the assurance of consistency in policy,” Tinubu said, assuring Shell Petroleum of his administration’s effort to remove bottlenecks affecting businesses. 

Shell Petroleum’s Yujnovich commended Tinubu for taking a bold step to make Nigeria a lucrative destination for foreign investments, “The bold step taken by the government would renew Nigeria’s pride of place as an investment destination,” she said. 

While praising Tinubu for his policies and the impact they will have on the business environment, Yujnovich said Nigeria remains a strategic investment country for the company, so Shell Petroleum will invest billions of dollars in Nigeria’s gas and deep-water assets and other areas. 

Their meeting with Tinubu followed that of ExxonMobil, which is currently in a logjam over a deal with Seplat Energy. 

The deal has been blocked by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and the oil market regulator, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC). 

Seplat Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Roger Brown, had stated that he hopes Tinubu will approve the deal, after his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari, reversed his approval following criticism from NUPRC.