Less than 24 hours after President Muhammadu Buhari gavr assent to shares acquisition deal between an Indigenous Oil firm,Seplat Energy and oil Multinational ExxonMobil, Nigeria’s oil sector regulatory commission said the status quo in respect of the deal remains.
Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Gbenga Komolafe said in a release 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”
Komolafe added ” As it were the issues at stake is purely a Regulatory matter and the commission had communicated the decline of Ministerial assent to ExxonMobil in this regard.
As such the commission further affirms that the status quo remains ” Komolafe stated.
According to Komolafe NUPRC is committed to ensuring predictable and conducive regulating environment at all times in the Nigerian Upstream sector.
Earlier on monday, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President Femi Adesina had in a statement said “In his Capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, and in consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment in the energy sector, President Muhammadu Buhari has consented to the acquisition of Exxon Mobil shares by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
Exxon Mobil had entered into a landmark Sale and Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc, and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc, both registered in Delaware, USA.

Adesina said in consideration of extensive benefits of the transaction to the Nigerian Energy sector and the larger economy, President Buhari has given Ministerial Consent to the deal.

According to him, this action is part of the President’s commitment to investment drive and in line with the Petroleum Industry Act. Buhari therefore granted consent to the Share Sales Agreement, as requested by the parties to the transaction, and directed that the approval be conveyed to all the parties involved.

In the agreement, Exxon Mobil/Seplat are expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimization to support Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short term as well as ensure accelerated development and monetization of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.
President Buhari also directed that all environmental and abandonment liabilities be adequately mitigated by Exxon Mobil and Seplat.