August 10, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari has reversed his approval of the acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares in the United States of America by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
The reversal is coming barely 48 hours after a statement was issued by the President‘s spokesman, Femi Adesina, that the deal had been approved by the President.
THEWILL reported that President Buhari, on Monday, gave approval to the acquisition of the shares by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited, in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources.
According to a statement by Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, the consent was in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the energy sector.
The Presidency’s announcement of the approval of the deal took many industry players by surprise because the transaction had initially been declined on July 5, by the President, who is himself the Minister of Petroleum Resources.
The Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), in a swift response on Monday, rejected the presidential consent for the acquisition of the shares of ExxonMobil by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
The Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, had clarified that the Commission in line with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, is the sole regulator in dealing with such matters in the Nigerian upstream sector.
In a statement personally signed by Komolafe, the NUPRC Boss said the issue was purely a regulatory matter and the Commission had earlier communicated the decline of Ministerial assent to ExxonMobil in this regard.
But reacting to the development on Wednesday, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, told PREMIUM TIMES that President Buhari has taken a decision that the position of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission be supported.
He said the earlier confusion was because “various agencies involved in (the) decision had not coordinated well among themselves.”
“It has become clear that the various agencies involved in the decision had not coordinated well among themselves and having looked at all of the facts with all of the ramifications, the president decided the position of the regulator is to be supported”, Shehu said.
When asked if there will be proper communication over the issue, Shehu said, “I have no statement to issue.”
Seplat Energy Plc had in February announced an agreement to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Delaware for $1.28bn.
The transaction entails the acquisition of ExxonMobil Nigeria’s entire offshore shallow water business.
According to the deal, ExxonMobil Nigeria’s shallow water business is an established, high-quality operation with a highly skilled local operating team and a track record of safe operations.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has a pre-emptive right over the asset and had last month won a court decision temporarily blocking Exxon Mobil Corporation from selling assets in Nigeria to Seplat Energy Plc.
A Judge in Abuja had granted NNPC an “order of interim injunction” on July 6, 2022, barring Exxon Mobil “from completing any divestment” in a unit that ultimately operates four licences in Nigeria.
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