In 1999, Royal Dutch/shell (Shell) proposed an $8.5 billion Integrated oil and natural gas investment in Nigeria over a five-year period, which would be the largest industrial investment ever made in Africa. The proposal called for 70 percent of the cost to come from private companies (mainly Shell) and the other 30 percent from the Nigerian government. Shell had three reasons for its proposal:
Investment analysts had criticized its low return on capital compared to its competitors, and Nigeria offers low-cost petroleum extraction. Shell faced high political risk within its existing Nigerian facilities, and the company felt an additional Nigerian investment could win friends and lower risk in Nigeria. Shell had been criticized severely outside Nigeria for its Nigerian political activities and environmental policies and the company reasoned the new investment could help dispel this criticism. Nevertheless,
the two private companies that Shell proposed to share in the investment, ¡¦(»ý·«)
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