Oil workers in Nigeria
African divestment deals are back in the frame
After some delay, the much-heralded sale of oil and gas companies’ mature upstream assets in sub-Saharan Africa has gained fresh momentum, with a clutch of deals reaching completion
The Nigerian government has approved the sale of ExxonMobil’s onshore Nigerian assets to domestic company Seplat Energy, more than two years after the $1.28b deal was first announced, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) CEO Gbenga Komolafe has confirmed. This landmark transaction, focused on ExxonMobil’s shallow-water holdings, follows formerly state-controlled Nigerian National Petroleum Company’s (NNPC’s) withdrawal of a legal challenge to a deal that will nearly treble London-listed Seplat’s production to 151,000boe/d. In Nigeria, at least, the sense has grown in recent months that the obstacles stymieing deals are evaporating. “The majors are exiting land and
Also in this section
6 December 2024
The NOCs are both looking to take advantage of the petrochemicals boom, with the Saudi firm snapping up stakes in Asian JVs tied to offtake agreements and its Emirati counterpart striking big M&A deals
5 December 2024
While Donald Trump’s future sanctions policy is anything but certain, he may use a ‘carrot and stick’ approach to pursue an end to the war in Ukraine, although any changes will not happen overnight
5 December 2024
The latest sanctions on Gazprombank and other Russian banks may cause disruption, but willing buyers of Russian energy will find ways to continue payments
5 December 2024
The new edition of Outlook, our annual publication about the year ahead for energy, produced in association with White & Case, is available now
