LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- Chevron Corp. said
Tuesday it wants to auction off the rights it has
to two offshore oil fields near Nigeria's coast,
the latest foreign oil company moving to divest
from the country as regulatory uncertainty
looms in the nation.
The company identified the two blocks as
shallow-water fields near the coast of Nigeria's
Bayelsa state, which sits in the country's oil-rich
Niger Delta. The company did not disclose what
the estimated oil and gas reserves were for the
fields, which include the Anyala, Ato North and
Madu plays.
Chevron described the sell-off as part of its
Nigerian subsidiary's "continuous process of
portfolio evaluation and business
prioritization." The company offered no other
details.
The San Ramon, California-based oil company
said it produced some 238,000 barrels of crude
oil a day in 2012, one of the major foreign firms
operating in Nigeria's oil industry. Its holdings
also include interest in natural gas production
in the country.
Chevron has a 40 percent interest in the stakes
up for auction, with the state-run Nigerian
National Petroleum Corp. holding the majority
60 percent. The Nigerian government would
have to approve any potential sell-off.
The sites Chevron wants to sell off are near the
offshore field where Chevron had a gas rig
explode in January 2012, killing two workers.
Oil money provides about 80 percent of
Nigeria's government funding, which trickles
down to states that have budgets greater than
those of surrounding nations. But the corruption
that pervades the nation often sees that money
go into political leaders' pockets rather than
toward government services.
For years, Nigerian lawmakers have been
debating passing the Petroleum Industry Bill, a
sweeping overhaul of how Africa's most
populous nation deals with oil revenues and
foreign firms. Analysts say the bill, if passed,
would sharply reduce the profits of foreign
companies like Chevron, ExxonMobil Corp.,
Eni SpA, Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Total SA.
While the bill remains under discussion, some
firms have pulled back on announcing new
projects. Others have begun selling off stakes
in some fields. In November, Total announced it
sold an offshore oil stake for $2.5 billion to
Chinese state oil company Sinopec Corp. Shell,
the dominant oil company in the country, also
announced in June 2012 it would try to sell of
stakes it had in three fields as well, as its
management has suggested slowly pulling back
from Nigeria.
Nigeria produces more than 2 million barrels of
oil a day and remains key to U.S. gasoline
supplies.

It is simply business. the way of the Capitalists. The Ship (Nigeria) is sinking so the rats are fleeing, leaving the drunk sailors (Nigerians) aboard..