President Muhammadu Buhari has approved Seplat Energy‘s acquisition of the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation.
President Buhari approved the transfer in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, spokesperson Femi Adesina said in a statement Monday.
Exxon Mobil entered into a landmark Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc, and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc, both registered in Delaware, USA.
The presidency said President Buhari gave the approval in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment in the energy sector and considering the “extensive benefits of the transaction to the Nigerian Energy sector and the larger economy.”
“The President, in commitment to investment drive in light of the Petroleum Industry Act, granted consent to the Share Sales Agreement, as requested by the parties to the transaction, and directed that the approval be conveyed to all the parties involved.
“Exxon Mobil/Seplat are expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimization to support Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short term as well as ensure accelerated development and monetization of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.”
President Buhari also directed that all environmental and abandonment liabilities be adequately mitigated by Exxon Mobil and Seplat.
Seplat had in February said its offshore unit had entered an agreement to buy the entire share capital of Exxon’s Nigerian offshore shallow water business for $1.28 billion, plus a further consideration of up to $300 million based on the oil price and the average production of the unit, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, over a five-year period.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission on Monday night insisted that the status quo as regards the acquisition of the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited had not changed.
The Chief Executive Officer, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, specifically stated that the status quo was “the decline of assent to the transaction or share acquisition of ExxonMobil shares by Seplat,” which was in contrast to the announcement from the Presidency on Monday that President Muhammadu Buhari had consented to the acquisition.
“The commission does not work on the basis of news making the rounds,” Komolafe said.