Economy
Seplat to Boost Nigeria’s Oil Production With Mobil Assets Acquisition
By Adedapo Adesanya
Seplat Energy Plc will revive hundreds of Nigerian oil wells laying fallow after completing the acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) from ExxonMobil.
The company said it aims to lift oil output to about 200,000 barrels a day, a move that will help boost Nigeria’s oil production levels, as it aims to reach 2 million barrels per day next year.
The transaction, according to Seplat, “is transformative for Seplat Energy, more than doubling production and positioning the company to drive growth and profitability, whilst contributing significantly to Nigeria’s future prosperity.”
The completion of the Seplat-ExxonMobil deal has created Nigeria’s leading independent energy company, with the enlarged company having equity in 11 blocks (onshore and shallow water Nigeria); 48 producing oil and gas fields; 5 gas processing facilities; and 3 export terminals.
Recall that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) in October approved the deal as part of a series of approvals, while it blocked Shell’s asset sale of up to $2.4 billion to the Renaissance consortium.
The acquisition of the entire issued share capital of MPNU adds the following assets to the Seplat Group: 40 per cent operated interest in OML 67, 68, 70 and 104; 40 per cent operated interest in the Qua Iboe export terminal and the Yoho FSO; 51 per cent operated interest in the Bonny River Terminal (‘BRT’) NGL recovery plant; 9.6 per cent participating interest in the Aneman-Kpono field; and approximately 1,000 staff and 500 contractors will transition to the Seplat Group.
MPNU adds substantial reserves and production to Seplat Energy; 409 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) 2P reserves and 670 MMboe 2P + 2C reserves and resources as at 30 June 2024 and 6M 2024 average daily production of 71.4 kboepd (thousand barrels of oil equivalent).
Business Post reports that Seplat will be part of the payment this year, and will defer some to next year,
Speaking on the transaction, the Chairman of Seplat Energy, Mr Udoma Udo Udoma commended President Bola Tinubu for supporting this transaction and appreciated the support and diligence of the various ministries and regulators for all the work to reach a successful conclusion.
“We are delighted to welcome the MPNU employees to Seplat Energy. We are excited to begin our journey in a new region of the country, and we look forward to replicating the positive impacts we have achieved within our communities in our current areas of operations.
“Seplat’s mission is to deliver value to all our stakeholders, and we treasure the good relationships we have developed with the government, regulators, communities and our staff.”
On his part, the chief executive of Seplat Energy, Mr Roger Brown, described the acquisition as a major milestone, adding, “I extend my thanks to the entire Seplat team for their hard work and perseverance to complete this transaction.
“MPNU’s employees and contractors have a strong reputation for safety and operational excellence, and I welcome them to the Seplat Energy Group.
“We have acquired a company with one of the best portfolios of assets and related infrastructure in a world-class basin, providing enormous potential for the Seplat Group. Our commitment is to invest to increase oil and gas production while reducing costs and emissions, maximising value for all our stakeholders.
“MPNU is a perfect fit with our strategy to build a sustainable business that can deliver affordable, accessible and reliable energy for Nigeria alongside attractive returns to our shareholders”.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.99 per cent on Thursday, February 6, boosted by price appreciation in the six stocks.
The NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) went up by 31.02 points during the trading session to 3,171.57 points, in contrast to the midweek’s 3,140.55 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N17.57 billion to close at N1.796 trillion compared with the previous day’s N1.779 trillion.
Okitipupa Plc added N8.44 to its value yesterday to finish at N93.30 per unit versus N84.86 per unit, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N1.78 to wrap the day at N23.78 per share compared with N22.00 per share, and Afriland Properties Plc went up by N1.24 to N17.49 per unit from N16.25 per unit.
Further, Mixta Real Estate Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to finish at N3.11 per share versus the preceding session’s N2.96 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc grew by N1.61 to N39.50 per unit from N37.89 per unit, and UBN Property Plc rose by 2 Kobo to close at N2.22 per share, in contrast to midweek’s N2.20 per share.
During the trading day, the volume of securities bought and sold by investors increased by 19.3 per cent to 12.0 million units from 10.1 million units, the value of securities soared by 5.1 per cent to N14.2 million from N13.5 million, and the number of deals surged by 152.9 per cent to 43 deals from 17 deals.
Impresit Bakolori Plc ended the session as the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, followed by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 6.2 million units valued at N245.0 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units sold for N44.8 million.
Also, Impresit Bakolori Plc remained the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 519.5 million units worth N504.3 million, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with 42.4 million units sold for N12.9 million, and Geo-Fluids Plc with 9.3 million units valued at N44.8 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the value of the Nigerian currency, the Naira, depreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Thursday by 0.06 per cent or N89 Kobo to trade at N1,500.65/$1 compared with the previous day’s value of N1,499.76/$1.
However, the Naira improved its value against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday by N8.19 to sell for N1,859.98/£1 compared with Wednesday’s closing price of N1,868.17/£1, but against the Euro, the local currency depreciated by N1.77 to settle at N1,555.18/€1, in contrast to midweek’s value of nN1,553.41/€1.
At the black market, the local currency gained N20 against the greenback during the session to quote at N1,570/$1 versus the N1,590/$1 it was traded a day earlier.
In the cryptocurrency market, it was majorly red on Thursday due to profit-taking as the US Securities and Exchange Commission took the first step toward allowing new crypto exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking the price of assets like Litecoin and Solana, as well as new ways of redeeming funds from existing crypto ETFs.
Meanwhile, companies took another step toward launching Ripple (XRP) ETFs in a further sign of the new crypto-friendlier administration at the agency.
Data indicated that Cardano (ADA) went down by 5.1 per cent to trade at $0.7169, Solana (SOL) slumped by 4.8 per cent to finish at $192.63, and Dogecoin (DOGE) depreciated by 4.5 per cent to sell at $0.2509.
In addition, Ethereum (ETH) went down by 4.3 per cent to close at $2,713.47, Ripple (XRP) weakened by 3.6 per cent to end at $2.36, Litecoin (LTC) retreated by 1.9 per cent to close at $103.95, and Bitcoin (BTC) dipped by 0.5 per cent to sell for $97,344.70.
However, the price of Binance Coin (BNB) went up by 0.4 per cent to trade at $579.91, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited witnessed continued buying interest from offshore and domestic investors on Thursday, strengthening the market further by 0.10 per cent at the close of transactions.
Data revealed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 105.26 points yesterday to 105,430.15 points from the preceding day’s 105,324.89 points, and the market capitalisation expanded by N65 billion to close at N65.287 trillion compared with the previous session’s N65.222 trillion.
Business Post observed that the market participants showed interest in equities across the key sectors of the exchange because of their prospects to yield better value later.
The insurance counter gained 0.63 per cent, the consumer goods index appreciated by 0.18 per cent, the energy index improved by 0.13 per cent, the banking space jumped by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods industry grew by 0.04 per cent.
Eterna chalked up 9.88 per cent to trade at N33.35, Cadbury Nigeria also gained 9.88 per cent to finish at N26.70, Fidson increased its value by 9.77 per cent to N19.10, UPDC rose by 9.77 per cent to N2.36, and Deap Capital soared by 9.38 per cent to N1.05.
On the flip side, Tripple G lost 9.72 per cent to end at N2.23, Golden Breweries receded by 8.91 per cent to N7.87, Veritas Kapital slumped by 7.81 per cent to N1.18, Caverton dipped by 5.53 per cent to N2.05, and Regency Alliance slipped by 4.05 per cent to 71 Kobo.
When the bourse closed for the session, there were 33 price advancers and 23 price decliners, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Yesterday, investors bought and sold 537.2 million shares valued at N23.0 billion in 15,450 deals versus the 1.1 billion shares worth N28.8 billion traded in 15,080 deals on Wednesday, representing a rise in the number of deals by 2.45 per cent, and a decline in the trading volume and value by 49.19 per cent and 20.14 per cent, respectively.
Access Holdings led the activity log with 61.6 million stocks valued at N1.7 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 50.2 million equities for N296.2 million, Zenith Bank traded 40.5 million shares worth N2.0 billion, FBN Holdings sold 38.8 million equities valued at N1.3 billion, and UPDC transacted 23.6 million stocks worth N54.4 million.
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