The Federal Government, on Wednesday, announced the completion of the divestment deals between Nigeria Agip Oil Company and Oando Plc, as well as that of Equinor and Project Odinmim, which jointly worth about $1.5bn.
It also announced that as at June 2024, the country’s functional oil rigs increased to 34, adding that a total of 31 oil blocks were currently on offer for bidding in the 2024 Licensing Round through the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, an agency of the Federal Government.
The Chief Executive, NUPRC, Gbenga Komolafe, who disclosed this while speaking at the Nigeria Oil and Gas conference in Abuja, also gave updates on the $2.4bn Shell Petroleum Development Company and Renaissance divestment deal, as well as the $1.2bn ExxonMobil and Seplat deal.
Commenting on the four major divestments by International Oil Companies in Nigeria, Komolafe said, “For some of you who were at the panel session on Tuesday, the Chairman of IPPG (Independent Petroleum Producers Group) raised issues about the need for us to give update on the divestment programmes that are ongoing.
“Now, I am here to give you real-time updates on the four major divestments in Nigeria. The NAOC-Oando divestment has been concluded. The signing ceremony is to be conducted in the coming days.
“The Equinor-Project Odinmim divestment had also been completed. Also, the signing ceremony is to be conducted in the coming days. For the SPDC–Renaissance deal, documents have been submitted by SPDC. The documents are undergoing due diligence as we speak.”
The NUPRC boss further told delegates at the conference that the ExxonMobil– Seplat deal, the concerned parties have “expressed commitment to proceed to apply for ministerial consent to NUPRC,” adding that “we are yet to receive any as we speak.”
