Shell enters Mauritanian offshore with production sharing contracts

Shell on Monday signed two production-sharing contracts with the government of Mauritania for the exploration and potential future production of hydrocarbons in two offshore blocks.

Following government approval, the FTSE 100-traded Anglo-Dutch major oil producer plans to set up an office in the nation’s capital, Nouakchott, and begin exploration activities at offshore blocks C-10 and C-19.

The exploration, which shell will operate with a 90% interest, will start with reprocessing and analysis of existing seismic data and acquisition of new data.

The remaining 10% interest is held by Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures et de Patrimoine Minier, the national oil company of Mauritania.

Andy Brown, Shell’s upstream director, said: "This move represents Shell’s entry into the West African Atlantic Margin exploration basin, which has significant potential. We look forward to working with the government and people of Mauritania as we bring our expertise and technical capability to help develop the country’s emerging energy sector."

Shell and the Mauritanian government have signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly evaluate offshore exploration opportunities, explore new ways of meeting Mauritania’s domestic energy needs, and build capability in the nation’s energy sector.

Mohamed Ould Abdel Vetah, The Mauritanian minister of oil, energy and mining, said: "Shell’s new entry in the Mauritania offshore area represents an important added value to the exploration activities and will contribute to maintain the momentum for developing the energy sector in Mauritania."

Royal Dutch Shell 'B' shares were up 0.18% at 2,730.00p at 1229 BST.