By Udeme Akpan, Energy Editor
Seplat Energy Plc, a leading Nigerian independent energy company listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and the London Stock Exchange, said the federal government will approve its acquisition of ExxonMobil’s assets.
The government had earlier noted that it was not opposed to the deal, but that due process should be followed in acquiring the assets.
But in the company’s unaudited results for the nine months ended 30 September 2023, obtained by Vanguard, yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer, Seplat Energy Plc, Roger Brown, stated: “There is increasing confidence that President Tinubu’s administration will approve our acquisition of ExxonMobil’s share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).
“We remain confident that we can conclude our transformational acquisition of MPNU. We wholly align with and support President Tinubu’s efforts to make Nigeria a more attractive place to invest, and we will play our part by delivering affordable and reliable energy that will support our nation’s growth.”
Also, providing an insight into the company’s performance, the company, stated: “Seplat Energy’s operational performance was strong in the third quarter, particularly September which mitigated some of the outages experienced on third party infrastructure and supported production growth of 11% on the same period in 2022.
“Our balance sheet remains strong and thanks to higher commodity pricing and our proactive approach to cash management, we have generated more than $170 million in free cash flow year to date.
“Our focus for the rest of 2023 is on safe and reliable operations, revenue assurance and cost management, all of which will deliver further strengthening of our cash position. This keeps us on track for an excellent year that will support the increased quarterly dividends we announced in April and allow us to continue our commitment to reward shareholders.
“Following the serious incident on the Depthwize Majestic rig, which resulted in the tragic loss of life, we have provided significant support to Depthwize, its owner, in its recovery operation. Our own investigations are ongoing, but I can assure all stakeholders of our unwavering commitment to safety on all of our operations.
“Ongoing third-party delays to ANOH’s export infrastructure remain a source of frustration, but we are confident that the quality of the project will support dividend growth for Seplat in the coming years as we diversify the business and deliver on our strategy to provide more affordable energy for Nigeria.
“The company recorded a rise in revenue by 31 per cent to N478.1 billion from N258.7bn year-on-year, YoY, declared a third quarter, Q3 2023 dividend of US3 cents per share, in line with higher core annual dividend of US 12 cents.
The company stated: “The energy Company’s also grew its 2023 9M gross profit to N245.6bn from N118.5bn year-on-year whilst 9M 2023 production averaged 48,152 boepd, up 11 per cent on 9M 2022, with liquids production up 17 per cent.
“Operations benefited from improved uptime at Forcados Oil Terminal and availability of the Amukpe-Escravos pipeline, supporting strong revenue, modestly offset by higher costs. Robust cash generation further strengthened the balance sheet.
“Seplat Energy achieved more than 6.4 million hours without Lost Time Injury (LTI) at Seplat-operated assets. The Company expressed increasing confidence that President Tinubu’s administration will approve its acquisition of ExxonMobil’s share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPNU).
“Revenue up 31.0% to $810.4 million (including an overlift of $127.8 million) from $618.6m in 9M 2022 (including an underlift of $60.3 million). Adjusted revenue was flat YoY as improved production mitigated lower oil price realisations.
“Average realised oil price $82.76/bbl (9M 2022: $108.25/bbl); average gas price improved to $2.87/Mscf (9M 2022: $2.80/Mscf). Unit production opex of $9.7/boe, (9M 2022: $9.3/boe).
“Cash generation of $365.1 million, flat YoY, funding capex of $125.4 million. Balance sheet strengthened in the quarter, $391.0 million cash at bank (9M 2022: $305 million), $128 million MPNU cash deposit not included.
“Net debt at end September fell to $347.6 million (9M 2022: $452.2 million), a further $11 million of RBL borrowings were repaid in 3Q 2023 ($22 million YTD). Net Debt to TTM EBITDA improved to 0.9x. Q3 2023 dividend declared of US3 cents per share, in line with higher core annual dividend of US 12 cents.
“Production increased to 48,152 boepd, up 11% (9M 2022: 43,337 boepd), slightly down on 6M 2023 given outages on export infrastructure in 3Q. Group production deferment at 31% down from 37% in the same period last year.”
It added: “Issues with the Antan-Ebocha line were resolved allowing production to resume at the Jisike field (OML53) in August. ANOH first gas now expected in 3Q-2024. Further delays during construction of the project, particularly the two critical infrastructure projects managed by third parties: OB3 pipeline and Spur line.”
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