Chevron Corp. says it will auction off rights to 2 Nigeria oil blocks as others companies sell

LAGOS, Nigeria – Chevron Corp. says it wants to auction off its rights to two offshore oil fields in Nigeria.

In a statement Tuesday, the San Ramon, California-based oil firm identified the two blocks as being offshore the coast of Nigeria's Bayelsa state in the country's oil-rich southern delta.

Chevron has a 40 percent interest in the stakes, with the state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. holding the majority 60 percent. The sites are near the offshore field where Chevron had a gas rig exploded in January 2012, killing two workers.

The potential sell-off, which would need to get Nigerian government approval, comes as other foreign oil companies operating in the West African nation have begun selling off some of their stakes amid uncertainty about regulations in the country.