Seplat Energy Plc has announced that the Nigerian government has finally given consent to its $1.3 billion acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) assets.

The oil company disclosed this in a statement released on Wednesday through its official X account.

Seplat said that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has confirmed the consent of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who doubles as the substantive Petroleum Resources Minister, to proceed with the purchase of the entire issued share capital of Mobil.

“Seplat Energy Plc has announced that the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (“NUPRC”) has confirmed that consent has been granted by the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources in Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, to proceed with the acquisition of the entire issued share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU) (the Transaction),” it said in the statement.

The oil firm lauded Tinubu for granting the approval.

“Seplat Energy sincerely thanks His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for granting this approval, and appreciates the support and diligence of the various ministries and regulators for all the work on this transaction.

“The company will now work with all parties to bring the transaction to completion,” the firm stated.

This comes two years after Seplat announced in February 2022 that it had acquired ExxonMobil’s 40 percent stake in MPNU.

But the company had witnessed regulatory setbacks ever since.

On May 19, 2022, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Company (NUPRC) declined to approve Seplat’s proposed acquisition, citing “overriding national interest.”.

Similarly, NNPCL dragged Seplat to court over its acquisition of MPNU until the matter was withdrawn.

Seplat announces Nigerian govt approval for $1.3bn acquisition of MPNU