By Abubakar Yunusa,y
Texas-based major Exxon Mobil has given its reason for choosing to sell the entire shallow water assets of one of its Nigerian subsidiaries, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, to Seplat Energy, saying the sale will support the company’s disciplined investment strategy, an effort to enhance industry participation.
The sale agreement includes Mobil Development Nigeria and Mobil Exploration Nigeria’s equity ownership of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, translating to a 40 per cent stake in four oil mining licenses.
It includes more than 90 shallow-water and onshore platforms and 300 producing wells, according to a statement by ExxonMobil seen by Peoples Daily.
Both firms entered the contract, with Seplat buying out Exxon Mobil’s stake of $1.3 billion, a deal that could ultimately reach around $1.6 billion under certain conditions.
Liam Mallon, president, ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas said “this sale will allow us to prioritise competitively advantaged investments in our strategic assets, and it supports the Nigerian government’s efforts to grow its oil and gas operations.”
“We value the relationships we have spent decades building with the government and people of Nigeria, which will continue as we maximize the value from our deepwater operations.”
ExxonMobil said it will maintain a significant deepwater presence in Nigeria, with interests in the Erha, Usan and Bonga developments via Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited.
The sale, the company said, will not affect employment negatively and is hoped to be perfected later this year after on receipt of regulatory and other approvals.
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