Olufemi Adeyemi
The Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy Plc, Roger Brown in a statement said that the company is optimistic about the acquisition approval of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) assets in 2024The leading Nigerian independent energy company listed on
both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange, made this known
on Thursday in the company’s audited results for the twelve months ending
December 31, 2023.
Seplat had announced an agreement to acquire ExxonMobil’s 40
percent stake in MPNU on February 25, 2022, with expectation that the
transaction will be closed in the second half of 2022.
However, Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited,
which has a 60 percent share in MPNU, showed interest in acquiring ExxonMobil’s
stake.
NNPC exercised a right of pre-emption on the planned
divestment and obtained a court injunction, which restrained the proposed sale.
In an update on the deal, Brown said finally “we have high
confidence that we will conclude the transformational acquisition of MPNU this
year”.
In another statement by the company in the financial report,
Seplat said it remains highly confident that President Bola Tinubu’s
administration will approve the acquisition of Exxon Mobil’s share capital of
MPNU.
On May 24, 2023, the company announced that it had extended
the share sale and purchase agreement (SSPA) for the acquisition of
ExxonMobil’s share capital of MPNU.
The extension, Seplat said, in the statement, was to
preserve the transaction while certain legal actions were being resolved and
necessary regulatory approvals were made.
“The Board remains confident that the transaction will be
approved and all associated legal issues will be resolved,” the company said.
“We continue to work with all parties to achieve a
successful outcome, including our financiers, who remain supportive.
“We have been encouraged by the continued efforts of the
President Tinubu administration to drive positive change in Nigeria and a more
supportive environment for businesses that want to invest and grow in the
country.”
Seplat said it will provide more information on the deal as
appropriate.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Company (NUPRC),
on May 19, 2022, declined to approve the proposed acquisition due to
“overriding national interest”.
Also, in August 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari
reversed his authorisation for the acquisition — a few days after his initial
approval.
Commenting on the delay in the approval of divestments,
Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), on October
4, 2023, said the federal government is handling the divestment of
international oil companies (IOCs) on a case-by-case basis.
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