Additional details have emerged concerning the ownership structure of the company that is set to acquire Oil Mining Lease 29 and the 60-mile Nembe Creek Trunkline sold by Shell and its partners in a $2.562 billion deal.
As previously reported, Shell, operator of the oil lease, has sold its 30 per cent stake in the oil field and pipeline, while France’s Total Global and Italy’s Eni S.P.A. have sold off their 10 per cent and five per cent stakes respectively to local investors.
The remaining asset balance of 55 per cent will be retained by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation under a Joint Operating Agreement.
Contrary to erroneous reports, the Aiteo Group-led consortium – not Taleveras Group – is the majority stakeholder in the deal with an 85 per cent equity stake.
A statement by Oseyemi Oluwatuyi of the Communications Department of the Aiteo Group said: “Therefore, it is total misinformation in the local and international media that it is the ‘Taleveras-led consortium’ that acquired OML 29 divested by Shell.”
Oluwatuyi further noted that it had become necessary to correct the misleading media reports about the acquisition of OML 29, the most prolific of the oil blocks sold off by Shell, after noting the discrepancy reported on numerous occasions.
The statement added: “The Aiteo Group, whose major business areas include exploration and production, issued this statement in order to clarify various print and online media reports that carried misleading stories about the details of the transaction.”
Oluwatuyi also corrected the block’s price, putting the total cost of acquisition at $2.7 billion.
She said while $2.562 billion was the actual cost for the acquisition of the block and Nembe pipeline, additional funds have also been earmarked as working capital.
A breakdown of the shareholding structure cited by THISDAY supports Oluwatuyi’s figures, reporting the number of shares held by the consortium at 2.7 billion units, with Aiteo Energy Resources Limited holding a total volume of 2.294 billion shares, Tempo holding 270 million shares with its 10 per cent equity, and Taleveras holding 135 million shares.
The Africa Oil & Gas Report has put OML 29’s proven and probable reserves (P1+P2) at about 2.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent, while its hydrocarbon fields could deliver as much as 160,000 barrels of oil per day and 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmsc/d) at peak output.
While the Aiteo Group consortium beat out several indigenous and international companies as the preferred bidder for OML 29 and the Nembe pipeline, not everyone walked away empty-handed in the sale of onshore oil blocks.
The Erotron Consortium, for example, won the bid for OML 18 – having offered $1.2 billion for the oil block; Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited, operator of the NNPC/Pan Ocean Joint Venture, clinched OML 24 after submitting a bid of $900 million; and Crestar managed to secure OML 25 for $500 million.
The Aiteo Group is a vertically integrated energy company, expanding its global footprint and scope from Oil & Gas and Power into fully diversified conglomerate with investments across key economic sectors including mining, agriculture, financial services, real estate and infrastructure.