The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has announced the signing of a settlement agreement on the divestment of ExxonMobil’s stake in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) to Seplat Energy Plc.
The disclosure by the company came after two years after that ExxonMobil had expressed its plan to divest from MPNU, a decision which led to a legal dispute over the plan in February 2022.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the NNPCL’s management confirmed that the divestment plan had been concluded and now allowed Seplat Energy Plc to acquire the MPNU from the parent company –ExxonMobil.
The statement partly reads: “Settlement agreement between NNPC Ltd. And MPNU, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc., and Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc. signed regarding the proposed divestment of a 100% interest in MPNU to Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.”
It would be recalled that on February 25 2022, Seplat Energy Plc had disclosed its plan to purchase all shares of MPNU from ExxonMobil Corporation, Delaware for $1.28 billion, which will legally put the former in position to take over ExxonMobil Nigeria’s offshore shallow water operations.
Not comfortable with the deal, the NNPCL decided to invoke its Right of First Refusal (RFR) regarding the deal and in May the same year, the Federal Government disapproved the deal based on what it termed overidding national interest.
Similarly, A Federal High Court judge in Abuja on July 6, 2022 issued an “order of interim injunction” that prohibits ExxonMobil Corporation from finalizing any divestment in MNPU that holds four licenses in Nigeria.
However, the imbroglio appeared to have been politically settled last Tuesday when President Bola Tinubu met with the President of ExxonMobil, Liam Mallon, and other executives of the company, during which he assured the team of amicable resolution of the lingering dispute on the ExxonMobil-Seplat’s deal.
He told the ExxonMobil team: “We have been pushing for closure on divestment issues, and I believe the other party, Seplat, is open to this.”
