Nigerian Firm, Chappal Energies, Acquires Another Oil Company in Landmark Deal
- Chappal Energies, a Mauritius-registered Nigerian oil firm, has finalised the deal for the acquisition of Equinor assets in Nigeria
- Equinor Nigeria Energy Company is a subsidiary of Equinor Norway ASA, and the deal includes stakes in the Agbami oilfield
- The project was finalised via Project Odinmim, an SPV owned by Chappal Energies, at an undisclosed amount
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Legit.ng’s Pascal Oparada has reported on tech, energy, stocks, investment and the economy for over a decade.
A Nigerian oil firm, Chappal Energies, says it has completed the acquisition of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company, a subsidiary of Norway’s Equinor ASA.
Equinor agreed to sell its Nigerian assets, including its stakes in the Agbami oilfield, to Chappal Energies in November last year.
Source: Getty Images
FG approves sale of Equinor assets
The Nigerian government later approved the divestment of Equinor Nigeria Energy Company Limited to another firm via Project Odinmin Investments Limited.
A Bloomberg report disclosed that the deal gives the Mauritius-based Chappal Energies control of Equinor, which has about 53.85% in the oil mining lease (OML) 128.
The report said the deal includes a 20.2% stake in the operations of the Chevron-operated Agbami oilfield and OML 129.
The project was finalised via Project Odinmim, an SPV owned by Chappal Energies at an undisclosed amount.
Ufuoma Immanuel Chappal, managing director of Energies, said the acquisition will attract immediate production and cashflow benefits.
He said Rand Merchant Bank acted as the sole financial adviser to Chappal Energies on the deal.
Other oil firms offload Nigerian assets
Immanuel’s statement said oil majors such as Shell, Eni, and ExxonMobil have divested or planned to sell their assets in Nigeria to reduce their exposure to challenging terrain due to obsolete infrastructure and oil theft.
The chief executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said Eni’s divestment of Nigerian Agip Oil Company to another company, Total Energies-Telma Energies deal, and ExxonMobil’s asset sale to Seplat received ministerial approval.
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Meanwhile, due to regulatory hurdles, Shell Petroleum Development Company’s asset sale to Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited fell through.
The Chappal-Equinor deal is another milestone in the slew of foreign firms exiting the Nigerian oil industry.
Analysts say the move challenges Nigeria, whose oil rigs have been reduced due to declining exploration caused by IOCs' exits.
NNPC gives order to ExxonMobil over asset sale to Seplat
Legit.ng earlier reported that ExxonMobil disclosed that it was awaiting an NNPC order to lift the injunction against selling its assets to Seplat, Nigeria oil firm.
The company's regional communications manager, Oge Udeagha, stated this while responding to a question.
The Nigerian state oil firm announced that it agreed to settle with ExxonMobil in Nigeria on the planned sale of a 100% take to Seplat.
Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng
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