NNPC Rejects Oando’s Acquisition of Agip Oil's Assets in Nigeria
- The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has objected to the sale of Agip’s assets to Oando
- In a letter to Agip, NNPC stated that the planned acquisition violates the joint venture agreement
- The company said Oando’s planned asset takeover could trigger legal fireworks
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The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) has rejected Oando’s acquisition of Agip Oil Company onshore assets in Nigeria.
The deal would enable Oando to take over Agip's Eni Oil mining lease (OMLs) 60 to 63. It allows the firms to circumvent the rising exposure to challenges and will enable Oando to grow its assets based in the Niger Delta.
Source: Getty Images
NNPC reveals move would vitiate agreement
In a letter to the Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil and The Chief Executive Officer of Oando Oil Limited, NNPC said the planned acquisition violates the terms of the agreement and could lead to legal battles.
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Vanguard states that the letter was signed by NNPC’s EandP Managing Director, Ali Muhammad Zarah, and copied to Oando’s Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Executive Vice President of Upstream, and the Chief Operating Officer of Oando Oil Limited, stating that the planned deal could lead to license revocation as NNPC owns 60% of the Agip assets in Nigeria.
The letter said:
“It is imperative for you to know that failure for you to obtain NEPL’s prior written consent and approval with regards to the alleged transfer of your interest in the joint asset constitutes a grave breach of the terms of the JOA and NEPL’s reserves its right in relation to the said breach- including NEPL’s entitlement to invalidate the purported assignment to OOL.
“Please note that as holders of 60 percent participating interest in the NEPL/NAOC/ OOL JV, we are indeed concerned that the entire purported assignment was executed without due compliance with the terms of JOA.”
Seplat's move to acquire ExxonMobil stalled
Recently, oil firms have divested most of their interests in Nigeria’s onshore operations.
In August last year, former President Muhammadu Buhari approved Seplat’s acquisition of ExxonMobil assets in Nigeria.
Legit.ng reported that companies unveiled the deal in 2022, with Seplat agreeing to pay $1.3 billion for an Exxon unit 40% shareholding in four shallow water licenses in a purchase agreement almost four times the independent company’s output to more than 130,000 barrels per day.
The Nigerian government stalled the deal for over a year and finally overturned it over regulatory issues.
Top 5 oil companies in Nigeria rain cash on employees in first half of 2022
Legit.ng reported that recent reports have shown that leading energy firms in Nigeria spend heavily on staff welfare, including salaries and other benefits, to retain them.
Seplat Energy, Total Energy and Ardova were the top oil marketers in Nigeria with the highest personnel costs and expenses in the first half of 2022.
Statements from their records show that the oil firms spent about N17.2 billion on staff and personnel expenses between January and June 2022, representing a 14.4% increase compared to N15.04 billion recorded in the previous year.
Source: Legit.ng
