President Bola Tinubu says the ExxonMobil-Seplat divestment will receive ministerial approval in a matter of days, having been concluded by the regulator, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
President Tinubu said this was done in the same manner as other qualified divestments approved in the sector. He said this in his October 1 nationwide Indepedence broadcast on Tuesday.
The proposed divestment of 100 percent interest in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited worth $1.28 billion deal was first announced in February 2022 but has been entangled in regulatory hurdles for over two years.
In May 2022, the federal government, through the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), declined its consent to the proposed acquisition.
The government, among others, cited overriding national interest as one of the reasons for rejecting the deal.
In August 2022, former President Muhammed Buhari approved the acquisition of the shares of ExxonMobil’s Nigerian unit by Seplat Energy. Buhari consented to the acquisition of the asset.
But Buhari’s approval had no effect as the NUPRC did not approve it thereafter. The deal has stalled since then, even though Oando, owned by Wale Tinubu, got an accelerated approval to buy the onshore assets of Agip and Eni.
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