The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has won a court decision temporarily thwarting Exxon Mobil Corporation’s plans to sell assets in Nigeria to Seplat Energy Plc.
A judge in Abuja granted NNPC an “order of interim injunction” on July 6, 2022, barring Exxon “from completing any divestment” in a unit that ultimately operates four licenses in Nigeria, Blomberg reported on Monday.
Not that the Lagos-based producer, Seplat, had agreed to acquire the United States oil major’s subsidiary for at least $1.28bn in February.
The report said that NNPC wished to block the transaction and to take over the permits itself.
Bloomberg stated that NNPC sued Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited on July 5, 2022, asking the Federal High Court either to order that a dispute had occurred between the parties over preemption rights, or to order them to take the matter to arbitration, quoting a statement from Seplat.
Seplat, which was not a party to the lawsuit, said its deal with Exxon was “still valid” and the company “remains confident that the matter will be brought to a proper conclusion by the law.”
A spokeswoman for Exxon declined to comment, according to Bloomberg, while a spokesman for the NNPC did not respond to a phone call and text message.
