By Danladi Ahmed
The Tinubu Media Support Group (TMSG) has described the approval of the previously stalled Seplat/ExxonMobil divestment deal and other related agreements as clear proof of the Tinubu administration’s readiness to push Nigeria’s crude production capacity to an all-time high of 4 million barrels a day by 2030.
In a statement signed by its Chairman Emeka Nwankpa and Secretary Dapo Okubanjo, TMSG noted that the deal was in fulfillment of the President’s October 1 pledge to complete the process as soon as possible in order to boost the country’s oil production capacity in the short term.
The statement read in part, “Like many Nigerians, we are aware that on assuming office last year, President Bola Tinubu met on his desk a plethora of stalled deals in the oil industry, including a few encumbered by legal disputes, which have been having adverse effects on Nigeria’s ability to maximize its revenue potentials in the sector.
“For us, the one that caught the eye and attracted most attention nationwide was the $1.28m Mobil-Seplat divestment transaction especially as the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had 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 it on record that while the dispute between NNPCL and Mobil raged, the country was missing out on about 480,000 barrels per day crude production from the lucrative off shore 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.
“So when the President gave his words in his October 1 nationwide broadcast that the deal would be consummated within days, it was a statement of intent by an administration that is very keen on ramping up oil production.
“The approval which has now catapulted yet another Nigerian company into the league of big players in the oil sector is a testament to the changing face of the industry and has led to about 10% increase in the market value of Seplat Energy on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
“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 off shore 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.
“We dare say that the renewed interest across the value chain of the oil industry in Nigeria is as a result of the fiscal incentives introduced by the administration through five executive orders in its quest to meet its 4 million barrels per day target for crude production by the year 2030.
“We also know that the next one year is a critical phase in this quest which is why we hail the wisdom behind the launch of 1MMBOPD, an initiative meant to raise crude production by 1 million barrels per day in 12 months.
TMSG also urged all the players to play by the rule now that the Tinubu administration has set in motion policy reforms to enhance investment in the oil sector.
