Oando Plc has completed the acquisition of a 100 per cent shareholding interest in the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) from Eni, an Italian oil major.
The deal is worth $783 million — comprising consideration for the asset and reimbursement, the company said in a statement.
Oando had about a year ago (September 2023) made known its interest to acquire the NAOC, but the deal was delayed due to regulatory approvals, which was a requirement.
Last month, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) said had approved the acquisition of 100 per cent shares of Eni in NAOC, but said an official announcement would be made soon.
Oando in a statement described the acquisition as a significant milestone in its long-term strategy to expand its upstream operations and strengthen its position in the Nigerian oil and gas sector.
“The Transaction increases Oando’s current participating interests in OMLs 60, 61, 62, and 63 from 20% to 40%,” the statement reads.
It further said the acquisition increases Oando’s ownership stake in all NEPL/NAOC/OOL Joint Venture assets and infrastructure which include forty discovered oil and gas fields, of which twenty-four are currently producing, approximately forty identified prospects and leads, twelve production stations, approximately 1,490 km of pipelines, three gas processing plants, the Brass River Oil Terminal, the KwaleOkpai phases 1 & 2 power plants (with a total nameplate capacity of 960MW), and associated infrastructure.”
Based on 2022 reserves estimates, Oando said its total reserves stand at 505.6 million barrels of oil equivalent (MMboe) and the transaction would deliver a 98 percent increase of 493.6 MMboe — bringing the total reserves to 1 billion MMboe.
According to the statement, the transaction is immediately cash-generative and would contribute significantly to the company’s cash flows.
Wale Tinubu, the group chief executive officer (CEO) of Oando, said the announcement represents 10 years of toil, resilience, and an unwavering belief in the realisation of the company’s ambition since the 2014 entry into the joint venture via the acquisition of Conoco-Philips Nigerian portfolio.
