NUPRC approves TotalEnergies’ $510m deal with Shell, Agip

By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has approved the Sales and Purchase Agreement (SPA) by which TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited is divesting its full 12.5 percent contractor involvement successful Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE).

In a connection connected Thursday, NUPRC’s Head of Media and Strategic Communications, Eniola Akinkuotu, explained that nether the transaction, TotalEnergies volition transportation 10 percent of its involvement to SNEPCo for $408 million, portion NAE volition get the remaining 2.5 percent for $102 million.

The Commission noted that, pursuant to Section 95 of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021, it conducted owed diligence to verify the fiscal capableness and method competence of the assignees.

“SNEPCo and NAE person demonstrated some method and managerial competence to optimally lend to upstream operations successful OML 118. They already support a participating involvement successful the asset. Based connected the documents submitted, determination is wide grounds that they person entree to backing to conscionable their fiscal obligations,” the Commission stated.

NUPRC confirmed that TotalEnergies, a longstanding relation successful Nigeria’s upstream sector, had fulfilled statutory requirements, including outgo of the exertion interest for the divestment.

It added that SNEPCo and NAE volition instrumentality implicit decommissioning and abandonment liabilities, arsenic good arsenic big assemblage obligations, antecedently owed by TotalEnergies to the Federal Government successful respect of the divested interest.

The regulator further clarified that the transaction is inactive taxable to ministerial consent successful enactment with Sections 95(1), (2), (7), (11) and (12) of the PIA 2021. As portion of the process, SNEPCo and NAE are expected to wage 5 percent and 2 percent, respectively, of the $510 cardinal transaction worth arsenic premium connected ministerial consent and processing fees.

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