Page 7 - AfrOil Week 09 2022

AfrOil INVESTMENT AfrOil

Under the terms of the deal, which is still subject
to regulatory approval and ministerial review,
Seplat will pay $1.283bn for MPNU, plus up to
$300mn based on world oil prices and the Exx-
onMobil unit’s average production over a five-
year period. MPNU produced 95,000 barrels of
oil equivalent per day (boepd) in 2020, of which
92% was liquids.
The deal, which is slated to close in the second
half of 2022, implies an EV/2P ratio (enterprise
value divided by proven and probable reserves)
of $2.9 per barrel of oil equivalent (boe), with
“significant gas upside potential,” Seplat said in
a statement.
As a result of the transaction, Seplat will
acquire 40% operating stakes in four oil leases.
These sites will boost the company’s net produc-
tion to 146,000 boepd, up from the 2020 level of
51,000 boepd. They will also and expand proven
and probable (2P) reserves to 945mn boe, an Sylva (L), Mahamadou (C) and Arkab (R) on February 16 in Niamey (Photo: AEC)
increase of 89%.
ExxonMobil also intends to divest from holds in Shell Petroleum Development Co.
another local subsidiary, Esso Exploration and (SPDC), another joint venture involving NNPC.
Production Nigeria Ltd, a joint venture operated It submitted a non-binding offer for the stake in
with state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum January, along with several other Nigerian firms
Corp. (NNPC) in which it has a 40% stake. – Sahara Group Ltd., Heirs Oil and Gas Ltd.
Seplat is reportedly also eyeing the approx- and ND Western Ltd. This sale may generate as
imately 30% operating interest that Shell (UK) much as $4bn. ™

PERFORMANCE
Unmoved by Ukraine conflict, OPEC+ sticks

to its guns on crude oil production quotas

GLOBAL THE OPEC+ group surprised nobody in the
industry this week when it announced that it
would add 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) of
combined oil production in April, even as world
crude prices continued to defy gravity.
Following a meeting in Vienna on March 2,
the group signed off on the now-customary eas-
ing of quotas, though data showed that its Jan-
uary output was nearly 1mn bpd below target.
The US has repeatedly asked OPEC kingpin
Saudi Arabia to increase production to bring With the OPEC+ group’s position made
prices lower. However, Riyadh and other mem- clear, this week started with the news that 31
bers of the group have been united in reiterating member states of the Paris-based International
their dedication to the 2020 deal that has stabi- Energy Agency (IEA) had agreed to release
lised markets and bolstered prices. 60mn barrels from their strategic petroleum
Perhaps the clearest expression of the indus- reserves (SPRs), with half of the total coming
try’s perspective was given Bahrain’s Oil Minis- from the US.
ter HE Mohammed bin Khalifa bin Ahmed Al These developments prompted expressions
Khalifa during last week’s International Petro- of concern from Fatih Birol, the executive direc-
leum Technology Conference (IPTC) in Riyadh. tor of the IEA. “The situation in energy markets
He thanked Saudi Energy Minister and “captain is very serious and demands our full attention.
of the ship” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Global energy security is under threat, putting
Saud for his role in steering the oil industry away the world economy at risk during a fragile stage
from the “edge of the abyss.” of the recovery,” he said.

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