Artificial Intelligence in Divestiture Strategy and Strategic Decision-Making in International Oil Companies (IOCS) in Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.65150/EP-jmrr/V2E11/2026-06Keywords:
Artificial intelligence, Divestiture Strategy, Strategic Decision-Making, international oil companies, AI-Driven Asset Valuation, AI-Driven Financial Analytics.Abstract
This paper examined artificial intelligence (AI) in divestiture strategy and strategic decision-making of international oil companies (IOCs), with particular attention to Nigeria. The study aimed to examined how artificial intelligence improves the decision-making speed and quality of information used in divestiture strategies. A peer review qualitative data design was adopted. The study drawn evidence from peer-reviewed journals, and company’s official reports, which focuses on divestment cases involving Shell Petroleum Development Spin-off of its onshore outlets, Eni’ sale of Nigerian Agip Oil Company to Oando: Renaissance group, Total Energy’s spin-off of its portfolio, and ExxonMobil’s Spin-off of its Nigerian shallow-water subsidiary to Seplat Energy. The evidence was subjected to thematic content analysis on four decision domains: AI-driven asset valuation analytics, AI-driven human capitals analytics, AI-driven financial statement analytics, and post-divestment monitoring. The findings indicate that AI-driven asset valuation analytics, AI-driven human capitals analytics, AI-driven financial statement analytics, and post-divestment monitoring explained data quality, decision quality and decision-making speed. AI can integrate heterogeneous operational, financial, geological, market, regulatory and environmental information, identify patterns, generate scenarios and improve the speed and quality of strategic decisions. The paper concludes that AI-driven divestiture strategy with AI-driven human capitals analytics, AI-driven financial statement analytics improve strategic decision-making processes. It is recommended that IOCs should establish an AI-enabled portfolio intelligence platform that integrates AI-driven human capitals analytics, AI-driven financial statement analytics, and post-divestment monitoring data for decision support.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Ebikebena Redwell EMOTONGHA, Ph.D (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
