Nigeria prepares to approve Exxon’s $1.3 billion sale of surface water assets

Nigeria’s government is expected to approve within days the proposed $1.3 billion sale of ExxonMobil’s shallow water assets to local firm Seplat, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu said on Tuesday.

The US supermajor announced two years ago its intention to sell its Nigerian shallow water business to Seplat, Nigeria’s largest energy company by market value, in a $1.3 billion deal .

The transaction has been stuck at the regulatory approval level for months, and Exxon has yet to receive full approval for the asset sale.

Earlier this year, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) approved the proposed sale of Nigeria’s Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC Ltd), Eni’s wholly-owned subsidiary, which focuses on oil and gas exploration and production onshore in Nigeria as well as on power generation. , to Oando PLC. The regulator also gave the green light to Equinor to sell its Nigerian business to Project Odinmim.

But approval of the Exxon deal continued.

Now, the Nigerian president said in a televised speech to mark Nigeria’s Independence Day that the final green light for the Exxon deal is expected within days.

“The divestment of ExxonMobil Seplat will receive ministerial approval in a few days, being finalized by the regulator,” Tinubu was quoted as saying by Reuters.

The NUPRC has yet to announce its approval for the asset sale.

Despite the sale of its shallow water business, Exxon is committing to new investments in deep water in Nigeria.

ExxonMobil has proposed a $10 billion investment in developing Nigeria’s deep-sea oil resources, Stanley Nkwocha, spokesman and senior special assistant to the Nigerian president, said last week.

“We are working closely with the office of the president and the special adviser to the president to secure favorable tax arrangements that will make this significant investment possible,” Shane Harris, president and general manager of ExxonMobil’s Nigerian subsidiaries, was quoted as saying in the press release. release from the presidency.

“Our commitment to Nigeria remains unwavering. As we celebrate 70 years of oil production and 8 billion barrels produced, we are not retiring, but refocusing our investments on deepwater opportunities,” Harris added.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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