FG to approve Seplat’s acquisition of $1.3 billion ExxonMobil assets

Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian independent energy firm registered on the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange, has said that the federal government will approve the acquisition of $1.3 billion ExxonMobil’s shallow-water assets.

The FG had previously stated that it was not opposed to the purchase, but that proper procedures needed be followed in order to acquire the assets.

However, Roger Brown, Chief Executive Officer, of Seplat Energy Plc, has said that there is increasing confidence that President Bola Tinubu’s administration will approve the acquisition of ExxonMobil’s share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).

“We remain confident that we can conclude our transformational acquisition of MPNU. We wholly align with and support President Tinubu’s efforts to make Nigeria a more attractive place to invest, and we will play our part by delivering affordable and reliable energy that will support our nation’s growth.”

He made this known in the company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended September 30, 2023.

In addition, the business stated: “Seplat Energy’s operational performance was strong in the third quarter, particularly September which mitigated some of the outages experienced on third party infrastructure and supported production growth of 11 percent on the same period in 2022.

“Our balance sheet remains strong and thanks to higher commodity pricing and our proactive approach to cash management, we have generated more than $170 million in free cash flow year to date.

“Our focus for the rest of 2023 is on safe and reliable operations, revenue assurance and cost management, all of which will further strengthen our cash position. This keeps us on track for an excellent year that will support the increased quarterly dividends we announced in April and allow us to continue our commitment to reward shareholders.”

According to the unaudited report, Seplat said that following the serious incident on the Depthwize Majestic rig, which resulted in the tragic loss of life, “we have provided significant support to Depthwize, its owner, in its recovery operation.

“Our own investigations are ongoing, but I can assure all stakeholders of our unwavering commitment to safety on all of our operations.

“Ongoing third-party delays to ANOH’s export infrastructure remain a source of frustration, but we are confident that the quality of the project will support dividend growth for Seplat in the coming years as we diversify the business and deliver on our strategy to provide more affordable energy for Nigeria.”