Fakoyejo OlalekanThe Federal Government has approved Seplat’s acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) from Exxon Mobil Corporation, after the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) initially block the deal.
In a statement released on Monday to the capital market, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), Seplat said it received a letter from the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources for approval.
Recall that NNPC triggered its right to block the deal between Seplat and ExxonMobil, in a bid to takeover the shallow business asset of MPNU. NNPC had taken ExxonMobil to court, however, that seem to have been stepped down with the recent approval.
“Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian energy company listed on the Nigerian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange, is pleased to announce that it has received a letter from the Honourable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (“HMSPR”) notifying Seplat Energy that His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari has graciously approved that Ministerial Consent be granted to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited’s (a Seplat Energy subsidiary) cash acquisition of the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (“MPNU”) from its shareholders, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc (“MDNI”) and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc (“MENI”), being entities of Exxon Mobil Corporation registered in Delaware, USA (“ExxonMobil”).
“As announced on 25 February 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 approval is given by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari in his capacity as the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources (“HMPR”), with the granting of Ministerial Consent pursuant to the powers of the Minister under Paragraphs 14-16 of the First Schedule of the Petroleum Act, 1969. A separate announcement from the State House was released earlier.
“In the letter, the President as HMPR directed that the HMSPR shall convey Ministerial Consent to all relevant parties, including but not limited to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (“NUPRC”), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (“NNPC”), the ExxonMobil companies, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (“FCCPC”), and Seplat Energy/Seplat Energy Offshore Limited. 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 statement reads.
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