Shell plc SHEL has revealed that the predetermined sale of its onshore assets in the African country of Nigeria will progress, despite the Supreme Court ruling against the oil major in a case in which a Niger Delta community is seeking compensation for an oil spill, which occurred in 2019. This announcement comes after a Federal High Court in South-Eastern Nigeria ordered Shell to hold the planned asset sale.Bamidele Odugbesan, SHEL’s spokesman in Nigeria, stated that the Jun 16 Supreme Court judgement was in response to the appeal launched by Shell against a contempt ruling linked to the dispute with the Niger Delta community. "The Supreme Court ruling on 16 June was with respect to the contempt proceedings and not related to (the) onshore portfolio review," he said.According to the community’s lawyer, the ruling, which was made public earlier this week, prohibited Shell from selling its assets, as directed by a lower court in March.The oil supermajor mentioned that it invited bids for the sale. The spokesperson, however, did not comment on how many bids had been received.A compensation of $1.95 billion was granted to 88 communities in the Rivers State of Nigeria for the oil spill they blamed on the company, claiming that it damaged their farms and waterways. However, Shell has always denied causing the spill. The British energy giant is the biggest international oil firm with operations in Nigeria and has been involved in a series of court cases related to oil spills over the years.The company, which has been active in Nigeria since the 1930s, declared last year that it would divest its stake in the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria – a joint venture consisting of 13 oilfields and co-owned by ENI, TotalEnergies and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation. The divestiture is aligned with Shell’s global drive to lower its carbon emissions.Shell currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Investors interested in the energy space might look at some better-ranked stocks — CNX Resources CNX, Crescent Point Energy CPG and Murphy USA MUSA — each sporting a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNX Resources’ 2022 earnings is pegged at $3 per share, up 86.3% from the projected year-ago earnings of $1.61.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CNX’s 2022 earnings has been revised about 31% upward over the past 60 days from $2.29 per share to $3.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Crescent’s 2022 earnings per share (EPS) has been revised upward by about 101.3% over the past 60 days from $1.56 to $3.14.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CPG’s 2022 earnings is projected at $3.14 per share, up by 336.1% from the projected year-ago earnings of 72 cents.The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Murphy USA’s 2022 EPS has been revised upward by about 45% over the past 60 days from $12.11 to $17.54.MUSA beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate for earnings in all the trailing four quarters, the average being 49.1%. 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days Just released: Experts distill 7 elite stocks from the current list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys. They deem these tickers "Most Likely for Early Price Pops." Since 1988, the full list has beaten the market more than 2X over with an average gain of +25.4% per year. So be sure to give these hand-picked 7 your immediate attention. See them now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report CNX Resources Corporation. (CNX): Free Stock Analysis Report Murphy USA Inc. (MUSA): Free Stock Analysis Report Crescent Point Energy Corporation (CPG): Free Stock Analysis Report Shell PLC Unsponsored ADR (SHEL): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research