Nigeria’s indigenous firm, Seplat Energy Plc, has finally completed its acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, MPNU, from ExxonMobil at $800 million after over two years when the first deal was signed.
The company disclosed this in a recent statement.
According to the oil firm, the acquisition will add an additional 120,000 barrels to the country’s crude oil production.
Accordingly, whereas the original deal was for an initial $1.28 billion, the final consideration has now been put at $800 million.
With the development, Seplat became Nigeria’s leading oil firm, having equity in 11 blocks (onshore and shallow water Nigeria); 48 producing oil and gas fields; 5 gas processing facilities; and 3 export terminals.
Seplat showed that the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MPNU adds the following assets to the company: 40 percent operated interest in OML 67, 68, 70, and 104; 40 percent operated interest in the Qua Iboe export terminal and the Yoho FSO; 51% operated interest in the Bonny River Terminal, ‘BRT’ NGL recovery plant; 9.6 percent participating interest in the Aneman-Kpono field; and approximately 1,000 staff and 500 contractors will transition to the Seplat Group.
Reacting to the development, Chairman of Seplat Energy, Udoma Udo Udoma, lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for supporting the acquisition.
“Seplat Energy sincerely thanks His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for supporting this transaction and appreciates the support and diligence of the various ministries and regulators for all the work to reach a successful conclusion,” he said.
On his part, Roger Brown, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Energy, said, “Today we have achieved a major milestone in the history of Seplat Energy, and I extend my thanks to the entire Seplat team for their hard work and perseverance to complete this transaction.”
Recall that in October, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, NUPRC, approved the sale of ExxonMobil’s onshore oil and gas assets in Nigeria to the local company Seplat Energy, more than two years after the deal was first signed in February 2022.
