President Muhammadu Buhari, however, overruled both the NNPC and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission by consenting to the sale in his capacity as the Minister of Petroleum Resources, but only to reverse himself a few days after following a countermand of his consent by NUPRC.
But analysing the situation, Bloomberg recalled that Buhari’s administration was trying to reverse dwindling production and attract major investment into the sector that generates more than 90% of export earnings”, warning that the inconsistency in ExxonMobil-Seplat deal “could discourage investment in Africa’s largest oil producer in the wake of industry reform meant to grow the sector.”
While acknowledging that “the deal would have been the first major transaction to be announced since Nigeria passed sweeping legislation aimed at bolstering oil and gas investments after two decades of uncertainty”, the New York-based media conglomerate said experts were of the view that the latest development holds gloomy future for the oil reform.