The Executive Secretary, Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Council (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, has disclosed that the Federal Government may approve ExxonMobil’s asset sale to Seplat in less than two weeks if parties agree to two mutually exclusive options relating to decommissioning and host community rights.
Reuters further reported on Thursday that the NUPRC boss, however, declined to mention the specific options being presented to the parties involved in the deal.
He said that a meeting between representatives of both companies would be called on Friday (today) and the outcome would determine the approval status of the deal.
Komolafe said, “Subject to the outcome of the meeting, consent…could be given in less than two weeks from the date of the meeting.
“As a commission, we don’t want our nation to carry unwarranted financial burdens arising from the operations of the assets over time by the divesting entities.”
Seplat had in February 2022, reached an agreement to acquire assets of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited for about $1.28 billion. The transaction entails the acquisition of ExxonMobil Nigeria’s entire offshore shallow water business.
The former President Buhari approved the deal in his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, in compliance with the requirement of the law,
But Komolafe declined to sign off on the transaction with the claim that the commission is the sole regulator on such matters.
Such resulted in the delay in the completion of the deal.
