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NIGERIAN OIL & GAS<br />
INDUSTRY REPORT<br />
A REVIEW OF ACTIVITIES IN THE<br />
NIGERIAN OIL & GAS SPACE<br />
COURTESY AFRICAN OIL + GAS REPORT<br />
Kuteyi's career breakthrough came in<br />
2011, with the promotion to Project<br />
Manager for EGP3B, a crucial position<br />
that superintends Chevron Nigeria's<br />
600Million standard cubic feet per day<br />
capacity plant, in which a significant<br />
fraction of gas delivered in Nigeria's<br />
domestic market is processed. Kuteyi is<br />
going to China from Houston, Texas,<br />
where he was part of the Chevron<br />
Pipeline & Power team.<br />
SEPLAT/EXXONMOBIL D EAL:<br />
INTRA GOVERNMENT PUBLIC SPAT<br />
PROJECTS POOR OPTICS FOR<br />
INVESTMENT<br />
The public exhibition of disagreement<br />
between various agencies of the<br />
N i g e r i a n g o v e r n m e n t o v e r t h e<br />
ExxonMobil/Seplat Energy share<br />
acquisition reinforces a troubling image<br />
for the country's investment climate.<br />
In the space of three hours, three press<br />
releases had gone out to the media, two<br />
of them declaring that ministerial<br />
consent had been granted and one<br />
clearly saying 'no' with some ambiguity.<br />
In the afternoon of August 8, <strong>2022</strong>, a<br />
press statement by the media aide to<br />
P r e s i d e n t M u h a m m a d u B u h a r i<br />
declared that the president, as Minister<br />
o f P e t r o l e u m R e s o u r c e s , h a d<br />
"consented to the acquisition of<br />
ExxonMobil shares in the United States<br />
of America by Seplat Energy Offshore<br />
Limited".<br />
That statement, coming from the office<br />
of the highest office in the land, seemed<br />
so sacrosanct that industry watchers<br />
were declaring victory for orderly exit of<br />
International Oil Companies from the<br />
Nigerian E&P sector.<br />
A ministerial consent for E&P asset<br />
sale, delivered in six months, would be<br />
one of the fastest in Nigeria's recent<br />
history.<br />
The content of the statement from the<br />
Presidency was the core material in the<br />
news stories by global news agencies<br />
Bloomberg and Reuters.<br />
Seplat Energy's external affairs<br />
directorate corroborated the Presidency<br />
statement, but in what must be seen as<br />
an important data point, the company's<br />
statement declared it had received "a<br />
letter from the Honourable Minister of<br />
State for Petroleum Resources notifying<br />
Seplat Energy that His Excellency,<br />
President Muhammadu Buhari has<br />
graciously approved that Ministerial<br />
Consent be granted to Seplat Energy<br />
Offshore Limited's cash acquisition of<br />
the entire share capital of Mobil<br />
Producing Nigeria Unlimited from its<br />
shareholders, Mobil Development<br />
Nigeria Inc and Mobil Exploration<br />
Nigeria Inc, being entities of Exxon<br />
Mobil Corporation registered in<br />
Delaware, USA (ExxonMobil). There<br />
had been a statement from the<br />
presidency and a letter from the Minister<br />
of State for Petroleum.<br />
But just about the close of business, the<br />
N i g e r i a n U p s t r e a m P e t r o l e u m<br />
Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) sent<br />
o u t a s t a t e m e n t t h a t a t o n c e<br />
contradicted those from the Presidency<br />
and the Minister of State but left open,<br />
doubts as to the conclusion of the<br />
transaction. "The Chief Executive of the<br />
NUPRC Engr. Gbenga Komolafe<br />
clarified that the Commission in line with<br />
the provisions of the Petroleum Industry<br />
Act 2021 is the sole regulator in dealing<br />
with such matters in the Nigerian<br />
upstream sector", the Commission<br />
stated, adding, "the issue at stake is<br />
purely a regulatory matter and the<br />
Commission had earlier communicated<br />
the decline of Ministerial assent to<br />
ExxonMobil in this regard. As such the<br />
Commission further affirms that the<br />
status quo remains"..<br />
Even as the Commission talked of<br />
commitment "to ensuring predictable<br />
and conducive regulatory environment<br />
at all times in the Nigerian upstream<br />
sector", it is hard for anyone to read its<br />
statement, check with the others, and<br />
conclude that this is a "predictable<br />
regulatory environment".<br />
PANORO FINALLY EXITS NIGERIA<br />
Three years after it first announced a<br />
deal to sell all its Nigerian assets,<br />
Panoro ASA has finally got it done. The<br />
Norwegian minnow has completed the<br />
sale of its fully owned subsidiaries Pan-<br />
Petroleum Services Holdings BV and<br />
Pan-Petroleum Nigeria Holding BV to<br />
PetroNor E&P ASA for an upfront<br />
consideration of $10Million plus a<br />
contingent consideration of up to<br />
$16.67 Million based on future gas<br />
production volumes.<br />
The Divested Subsidiaries hold 100% of<br />
the shares in Pan-Petroleum Aje<br />
Limited ("Pan Aje"), which participates<br />
in the exploration for and production of<br />
hydrocarbons in Nigeria and holds a<br />
6.502% participating interest, with a<br />
16.255% cost bearing interest,<br />
representing an economic interest of<br />
12.1913% in Offshore Mining Lease no.<br />
113 (OML 113). Following completion of<br />
the Transaction Panoro has no<br />
operational presence remaining in<br />
Nigeria.<br />
"The upfront consideration of $10Million<br />
is expected to the paid within fifteen<br />
NAPENEWS AUG/SEPT <strong>2022</strong> 11
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