As $1.3bn ExxonMobil-Seplat, 3 Other Divestments Get Approvals

The federal government has announced the approval of  ExxonMobil’s $1.28 billion divestment of its oil and gas assets to Seplat Energy, marking a significant milestone in the transaction first announced in February 2022.

This sale has faced prolonged regulatory delays since its announcement in February 2022.

This approval was part of the four applications that received ministerial nods out of the five divestment applications that were initially pending.

This deal is expected to nearly quadruple Seplat’s oil output to over 130,000 barrels per day.

Chief executive officer of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum  Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Gbenga Komolafe,  made this known in Abuja on Monday.

However the federal government declined to grant approval for Shell’s $2.4 billion divestment of its onshore and shallow water assets to the local consortium, Renaissance.

These assets include an estimated 6.73 billion barrels of crude oil and condensate, along with 56.27 trillion cubic feet of gas.

Speaking at an event marking the NUPRC’s three-year anniversary, Komolafe did not provide specific reasons for the government’s decision to block the Shell-Renaissance deal.

However, he highlighted the government’s commitment to ensuring that all transactions comply with the regulatory standards established under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

Komolafe stated, “We have processed four of the transactions, and four of them have received ministerial consent.”

The approved transactions include: Equinor–Project Odinmim: Approved in line with the PIA and granted ministerial consent.

Agip to Oando: Processed according to regulatory guidelines and approved.

ExxonMobil-Seplat: Approved and granted ministerial consent.

TotalEnergies’ 10 per cent divestment to Telema Energies: Also approved with ministerial consent.

He further emphasised that this marks the first time in history that such a comprehensive regulatory framework has been implemented to ensure transparent divestment processes within Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

“We are happy today to announce the status of divestment exercise conducted diligently by the Commission in line

with the provisions of the PIA. Out of the total of five divestment applications for consent received by the Commission, a total of four, representing 80 per cent passed regulatory tests and secured ministerial consent.

The transactions are: Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited; Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited to Project Odinmin Investments Limited; Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited to

Oando Petroleum and Natural Gas Company Limited and TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited to Telema Energies Nigeria Limited.

He however said that the divestment of Shell Petroleum

Development Compan Limited’s assets to Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited could not scale regulatory tests.