Shell Petroleum Development Company is to sell some onshore oil fields in southern Nigeria valued at between $150 million to $2 billion, with the facilities located in the region where the industry has faced repeated militant attacks.

The onshore blocks, located in the Niger Delta, include OML 26, 30, 34, 40 and 42 and some contain reserves of up to two billion barrels, says the source familiar with the sale.

Shell has selected a few local companies of the 30 local firms that submitted expressions of interest and the sale is expected to be completed within weeks.

To qualify, the companies had to prove they had the financial and technical means to implement a development plan for the fields, some of which are shut in.

“The biggest structural challenge is the financing of the deal. The local companies must prove they have the funds to unlock the assets and be acceptable to both the host communities and the Federal Government,” said a source close to the negotiations.

It was gathered Midwestern Oil % Gas, Niger Delta Petroleum Resources and Setplat Petroleum were among the list of qualified companies.

“This is a private transaction and both Shell and the government want to keep it that way. They don't want the sale to become a public drama,” the source said.