Seplat's $1.28B Asset Deal with Exxon Gets Regulatory Boost: Report

May 3, 202412:28 UTC

XOM

SEPLF PPXD

XLE

Exxon Mobil Corporation‘s XOM asset sale to Seplat Energy SEPLF could reportedly be approved in less than two weeks.

Nigeria’s oil regulator said that this would end a two-year delay since the deal was signed, reported Reuters.

In 2022, Seplat Energy inked the $1.28 billion deal with Exxon and has been waiting regulatory approval since then.

As per the report, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) chief Gbenga Komolafe stated, “Subject to the outcome of the meeting, consent... could be given in less than two weeks from the date of the meeting.”

Komolafe added that “NUPRC would give the companies two mutually exclusive options that, if accepted, would permit approval of the deal.”

“As a commission, we don’t want our nation to carry unwarranted financial burdens arising from the operations of the assets over time by the divesting entities.”

As per the report, analysts said that approving the Exxon-Seplat deal would inject much-needed capital into Nigeria’s oil industry, thereby leading to improved oil output.

Apart from this, Exxon Mobil Corporation is preparing to close its $60 billion deal for Pioneer Natural Resources Co PPXD in the coming days.

Investors can gain exposure to the XOM stock via Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund XLE and IShares U.S. Energy ETF IYE.