Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell will sign a deal to sell its Gabon oil assets to US fund, Carlyle, this month, a source close to the talks said Monday, 16 January, as unions threatened further strike action.
The expected sale, worth an estimated $700m, is part of a drive by Shell to spin off a total of $30bn worth of assets to cut debt. Shell Gabon’s 400 staff started striking last week and threatened Monday to toughen their stance.
The ONEP union said that Shell’s withdrawal from Gabon was detrimental to staff and they should be paid damages.
The 400 staff are expected to be retained by the company’s new owners. The ongoing strike has already led to production cuts of 30-50%, the union said.
“The Shell Gabon company has already lost more than 90,000 barrels, which translates into a financial loss of $4.5m,” ONEP said.
Source: AFP
