Seplat acquires Mobil Producing Nigeria Shallow-Water Affiliate for $1.586bn

ExxonMobil has reached an agreement to sell its equity interest in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy, a Nigerian independent oil and gas company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
“This sale will allow us to prioritize competitively advantaged investments in our strategic assets, and it supports the Nigerian government’s efforts to grow its oil and gas operations,” said Liam Mallon, president, ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas. “We value the relationships we have spent decades building with the government and people of Nigeria, which will continue as we maximize the value from our deepwater operations.”
When finalized, the sale will include the Mobil Development Nigeria and Mobil Exploration Nigeria equity ownership of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, which holds a 40% stake in four oil mining licenses, including more than 90 shallow-water and onshore platforms and 300 producing wells.
ExxonMobil will maintain a significant deepwater presence in Nigeria, including interests in the Erha, Usan and Bonga developments via Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited.
Exxonmobil said the sale would not result in any loss of employment and is expected to close later this year subject to regulatory and other approvals.

Transaction details

Seplat Energy will acquire the entire share capital of MPNU from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Delaware (USA Incorporated), with an effective date of 1 January 2021 for a consideration of $1,283 million, subject to lockbox, working capital and other adjustments at closing relative to the effective date.
• The Transaction agreement also includes potential additional contingent consideration of up to $300 million in total, payable over the period 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2026, and contingent upon average Brent crude oil prices exceeding $70 per barrel and subject to MPNU’s average working interest production exceeding 60 kboepd (JV: 150 kboepd) in such calendar year
• The consideration implies an attractive EV / 2P metric of $2.9/boe, with significant gas upside potential