The federal government, through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), has approved the divestment of ExxonMobil onshore assets to Seplat Energy Plc after a two-year delay.
Seplat – whose shares also trade in London – gets the nod to acquire Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU), on October 21, 2024, giving Seplat control of several oil and gas assets in Nigeria
This is the third and latest divestment deal to the approved by the Nigerian Government, following the acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC) by Chappal Energies and Oando’s purchase of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from the Italian energy company, Eni.
The deal is expected to boast the Seplat’s existing stakes in the oil and gas sector with a 40 percent operating ownership of four oil mining leases (OMLs 67, 68, 70, 104) and associated infrastructure, in which the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited is the 60 percent partner.
Based on 2020 pro forma working interest volumes for Seplat Energy and MPNU, the $1.28 billion transaction is expected to deliver an 186 percent increase in production from 51,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to 146,000 boepd.
Also, the transaction targets a 170 percent increase in the total proven and probable liquids reserves (2P) from 241 million barrels of oil (MMbbl) to 650 MMbbl.
“14 percent increase in 2P gas reserves from 1,501 billion standard cubic feet (Bscf) to 1,712 Bscf, plus significant undeveloped gas potential of 2,910 Bscf
“89 percent increase in total 2P reserves from 499 MMboe to 945 MMboe. Includes offshore fields with dedicated, MPNU-operated export routes offering enhanced security and reliability.”
Read also: NAOC-Oando, Equinor-Chappal divestments get ministerial consent, as NUPRC assures of due diligence
The transaction agreement also includes potential additional contingent consideration of up to $300 million in total, payable over the period January 1, 2022, to December 31, 2026, and contingent upon average Brent crude oil prices exceeding $70 per barrel and subject to MPNU’s average working interest production exceeding 60,000 boepd in such calendar year.
Meanwhile, Nigerian energy company Oando is eying 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 10.7 trillion cubic feet of gas after completing a $783 million acquisition in Nigeria, BusinessDay’s findings have revealed.
Oando – whose shares also trade in Johannesburg – acquired NAOC, on August 25, 2024, giving Oando control of a number of oil and gas assets in Nigeria.
The deal is expected to boast the Oando’s existing stakes in OMLs 60, 61, 62, and 63 from 20 percent to 40 percent.
This expansion broadens Oando’s ownership across all NEPL/NAOC/OOL Joint Venture assets, which include 40 discovered oil and gas fields, 24 of which are currently producing.
In addition, Oando now holds stakes in key infrastructure assets, including approximately 1,490 kilometres of pipelines, three gas processing plants, the Brass River Oil Terminal, and the KwaleOkpai power plants with a combined capacity of 960 MW.
Based on 2022 data, Oando’s total reserves will almost double from 505.6 million barrels of oil equivalent to 999.2 million boe. Afreximbank said the four OMLs have produced 4.4 billion barrels of oil and 12 trillion cubic feet of gas to date, with 1.2 billion barrels of oil and 10.7 Tcf of gas remaining.
Accordingly, the deal was partly facilitated by Afreximbank with a senior credit facility of $500 million and a junior reserve-based lending facility of $150 million.
On the other hand, Chappal Energies have agreed to acquire Equinor Nigeria Energy Company (ENEC), which holds a 53.85 percent ownership in oil and gas lease OML 128, including the unitised 20.21 percent stake in the Agbami oil field, operated by Chevron.
Equinor has been present in Nigeria since 1992 and has played a role in developing Nigeria’s largest deep-water field, Agbami. Since production started in 2008, the Agbami field has produced more than 1 billion barrels of oil, creating value for the partners and the Nigerian society.
“Nigeria has been an important part of Equinor’s international portfolio over the past 30 years. This transaction realises the value and is in line with Equinor’s strategy to optimize its international oil and gas portfolio and focus on core areas,” Nina Koch, Equinor’s senior vice president for Africa Operations, said.
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