Seplat: We’re making significant progress on MPNU acquisition deal

Seplat Energy Plc says it is making progress with the acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) assets.

In February 2022, Seplat announced an agreement to acquire ExxonMobil’s 40 percent stake in MPNU — with the expectation that the transaction will be closed in the second half of the year.

However, Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited — which has a 60 percent stake in MPNU — showed interest in acquiring ExxonMobil’s stake.

Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Company (NUPRC), on May 19, 2022, declined to approve Seplat’s proposed acquisition due to “overriding national interest”.

Also, in August 2022, former President Muhammadu Buhari reversed his authorisation for the acquisition — a few days after his initial approval.

Speaking during the 11th annual general meeting (AGM) of the company, Udoma Udoma, chairman of Seplat Energy, said talks are ongoing with regulatory bodies.

“Let me say that the MPNU acquisition is very important to Seplat and we are making progress. We are currently engaged with government, with the regulators, with NNPC, And we’re making significant progress,” he said.

“So we are confident that soon, we’ll be able to get regulatory approval for the acquisition. And the statements which are being made by government in the public domain suggests that there is support for this.”

Speaking further, he said the company’s revenue rose by 11.5 percent to $1.06 billion in 2023 — from $952 million in 2022.

According to Udoma, this excludes “the reported $98.9 million overlift”.

“We delivered a strong set of results in 2023, against a weaker oil price environment. Despite the 17.0% decline in average price of Brent crude, we grew our oil and gas revenue by 11.5% to $1,061.3 million, crossing the $1.0 billion mark for the first time, supported by improved production and asset availability,” he said.

“We also made significant progress on several of our growth projects, showing a willingness to not just deliver value today but to plan for tomorrow.”

He said Seplat’s average oil production also rose by 8.3 percent in 2023 to 47,758 barrels of oil per day (bpd) — from 44,104 bpd in 2022.

Udoma also said the company completed 14 new wells across its operated and non-operated assets.