Exxon-Seplat’s $1.3bn deal gets Buhari’s greenlight
Seplat Energy Plc, a Nigerian energy company, has announced that it has received a letter from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, notifying it that President Muhammadu Buhari has approved its planned acquisition of a Nigerian subsidiary of ExxonMobil.
The company said in a statement that Buhari granted ministerial consent to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited’s cash acquisition of the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from its shareholders, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc, being entities of Exxon Mobil Corporation registered in Delaware, USA.
As announced on February 25, 2022, Seplat Energy had agreed to acquire the entire share capital of MPNU for a purchase price of $1.283 billion plus up to $300 million contingent consideration.
“The transformational transaction will create one of the largest independent energy companies on both the Nigerian and London Stock Exchanges, and bolster Seplat Energy’s ability to drive increased growth, profitability and overall stakeholder prosperity,” the statement said.
Seplat said the President, who doubles as minister of petroleum resources, directed Sylva to convey ministerial consent to all relevant parties, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the ExxonMobil companies, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, and Seplat Energy/Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
It said, “The President further directed that the HMSPR shall ensure that the ExxonMobil/Seplat Energy operating entity (being MPNU) carries out operatorship of all the OMLs in the related shallow water assets to optimise production in support of Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short term as well as ensure accelerated development and monetisation of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.
“The board and management of Seplat Energy thank His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, for the ministerial consent to this landmark acquisition of the entire share capital of MPNU.”
