Page 6 - AfrOil Week 28 2022

AfrOil INVESTMENT AfrOil

Court blocks ExxonMobil from

selling MPNU to Seplat Energy

NIGERIA NIGERIAN National Petroleum Co. Ltd and Exhibition on July 5, Kyari noted that
(NNPC Ltd) has won a court battle against Exx- NNPC would seek to acquire the most profitable
onMobil, blocking the US super-major from assets in the country.
selling assets to Seplat Energy. “As you [private oil companies] are also
Lagos-based Seplat had arranged to acquire acquiring assets, and – without mincing words,
Mobil Producing Nigeria unlimited (MPNU), I am being very [blunt] – we will acquire the best
the ExxonMobil subsidiary that holds the US of assets that is possible in order to build our
giant’s stake in four shallow-water Nigerian assets base and also those that we can’t manage
blocks, for at least $1.28bn in February. How- for our scale, we will give it to you,” he stated.
ever, government-owned NNPC Ltd sought to “We will be the biggest oil and gas company, and
block the transaction and to take over the per- therefore there will be no distinction between
mits itself. the NNPC and the rest of the partners that we
On July 6, a judge in Abuja granted NNPC have in this business.” ™
Ltd an “order of interim injunction,” which
legally bars ExxonMobil from “completing any
divestment” in Nigeria.
The court’s decision drew objections from
Seplat, which was not a party to the lawsuit. The
Nigerian company asserted that its deal with
ExxonMobil was “still valid” and declared that
it “remains confident that the matter will be
brought to a proper conclusion in accordance
with the law.”
NNPC Ltd, the successor to Nigerian
National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC), is due to
be launched officially as a commercial entity by
Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on July
19.
According to Mele Kyari, the company’s
CEO, the new NNPC Ltd will work hard to
accumulate the most attractive oil and gas assets
in the country.
Speaking to private oil companies during the
21st Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Conference Seplat had arranged to buy ExxonMobil’s stakes in four blocks (Image: ExxonMobil)

Shell follows court order and

suspends SPDC stake sale

NIGERIA THE African Export-Import Bank (Afrex- document, the bank will be able to carry out
imbank) revealed on July 7 that it had agreed to project preparation facility financing (PPF)
work with Nigeria’s UTM Offshore to cover part operations, it noted.
of the cost of a floating LNG (FLNG) project. The bank did not disclose the exact value of
In a statement, Afreximbank said that it had the deal or say how much it intended to lend
signed a heads of terms (HoT) document with UTM Offshore for the FLNG project. Instead,
UTM Offshore, which is leading the project it explained that it had agreed to provide partial
in co-operation with LNG Investment Man- financing for the initiative and would lead the
agement Services, a unit of Nigerian National process of raising the rest of the money needed
Petroleum Co. Ltd (NNPC Ltd). Under this to cover costs.

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 28 13•July•2022