The London-listed company saw its shares leap about 4.25% to around 206 pence in early trading on Friday after announcing it had completed the transaction to acquire a 45% stake in the productive block through its Nigerian joint venture Shoreline Natural Resources.
The 1097 square-kilometre block in the Niger Delta is one of several auctioned off by Shell as part of a divestment programme in Nigeria and the deal will see operatorship transferred from the Anglo-Dutch supermajor to state-owned Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, with the remaining 55% stake.
