By Abdulfatah Babatunde
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the approval of the Seplat/ExxonMobil divestment deal and other related agreements as clear proof of the Tinubu administration’s readiness to boost Nigeria’s crude production capacity.
TheNewsZenith reports that the approval is capable of pushing Nigeria’s daily crude oil production to four million barrels/day by 2030.
TMSG, in a statement, noted that the deal was in fulfilment of the President’s Oct. 1 pledge to complete the process to boost the country’s oil production capacity in the short term.
The group’s Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, signed the statement and emailed it to TheNewsZenith at the weekend.
“We are aware that on assuming office last year, President Tinubu met many stalled deals in the oil industry.
“These included a few encumbered by legal disputes. These legal encumbrances have impacted adversely on Nigeria’s ability to maximize its revenue potential in the sector.
“The one that attracted the most attention nationwide was the $1.28 million Mobil/Seplat divestment transaction.
“This is, especially, as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has stalled the deal since 2022.
“The approval which President Tinubu had pledged was in the works more than two years after the deal was announced in February 2022.
“We want to place on record that while the dispute between NNPCL and Mobil raged, the country was missing out on 480,000 barrels per day of crude production from the lucrative offshore operations.
“But it took the express directive by President Tinubu to the minister of state for Petroleum Resources to resolve the divestment issues before NNPCL entered into a settlement agreement with Mobil in May this year.
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“So when the President said in his Oct. 1 nationwide broadcast that the deal would be consummated within days.
“It was a statement of intent by an administration keen on ramping up oil production.
“The approval has now catapulted yet another Nigerian company into the league of big players in the oil sector.
“This is a testament to the changing face of the industry. And it has led to about a 10 per cent increase in the market value of Seplat Energy.
“This comes as more Indigenous companies pick up onshore assets that oil majors are abandoning to enable them to focus on the more lucrative and safer deep offshore operations.
“Aside from Seplat Energy, Oando, Project Odinmin, and Telema Energies – all companies with substantial Nigerian interests scaled through the regulatory window on the watch of the President Tinubu administration.
“The renewed interest across the value chain of the oil industry in Nigeria is due to the fiscal incentives introduced by the administration.
“The incentives came through five Executive Orders in its quest to meet its four million barrels per day target for crude production by the year 2030.
“We also know that next year is a critical phase in this quest. This is why we hail the wisdom behind the launch of one million barrels per day in 12 months.”
TMSG also urged all to play by the rule. This is as the Tinubu administration is set to enhance investment in the oil sector.
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