Seplat has agreed to acquire a 40 per cent stake in four oil mining licenses belonging to ExxonMobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited.
The agreement relates to ExxonMobil’s shallow water facility in Nigeria and is expected to be sold at $1.586bn when the deal is finalised.
ExxonMobil had the agreement to sell its equity interest in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy, a Nigerian independent oil and gas company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
Liam Mallon, the president of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas, said the sale would support the federal government’s effort to grow its oil and gas operations.
Mallon said, “This sale will allow us to prioritise competitively advantaged investments in our strategic assets, and supports the Nigerian government’s efforts to grow its oil and gas operations.
“We value the relationships we have spent decades building with the government and people of Nigeria, which will continue as we maximise the value from our deepwater operations.
“When finalised, the sale will include the Mobil Development Nigeria and Mobil Exploration Nigeria equity ownership of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, which holds a 40 per cent stake in four oil mining licenses, including more than 90 shallow-water and onshore platforms and 300 producing wells.”
He further explained that ExxonMobil would maintain a significant deepwater presence in Nigeria, which, according to him, would include interests in the Erha, Usan and Bonga developments via Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited.
ExxonMobil said the sale would not result in any loss of employment and was expected to close later in the year subject to regulatory and other approvals.
