Confusion over sales of Exxon Mobil assets to Seplat

Despite approval given by President Muhammadu Buhari authorising the sale of assets of Exxon Mobil to Seplat, the regulatory agency has declared that the firms should maintain status quo.

Buhari, as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, gave his nod for the sale a few days.

But the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Gbenga Komolafe, in a statement issued on Monday, said the issue was regulatory and the commission had earlier informed the decline of the ministerial assent on the issue.

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“The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) affirms that status quo remains in respect of ExxonMobil/Seplat Energy share acquisition.

“As it were, the issue at stake is purely a regulatory matter and the Commission had earlier communicated the decline of Ministerial assent to ExxonMobil in this regard. As such the Commission further affirms that the status quo remains,” he stated.

The NUPRC boss added that the commission, as the sole regulator of the issue in Nigeria’s upstream sector in accord with Petroleum Industry Act 2021, was committed to ensuring a predictable and conducive regulatory environment at all times in the Nigerian upstream sector.

The Star