Agip Oil Company sold to Tinubu’s Nephew.
Italian oil giant Eni announced on Wednesday that it had received approval from the Nigerian government to proceed with the proposed sale of Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to Oando, managed by Wale Tinubu, President Bola Tinubu’s nephew.
“Eni has received formal consent from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for the sale of NAOC Ltd to Oando Plc,” stated Eni in a press release.
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The sale will allow Agip to concentrate on its offshore operations. This move comes after an exclusive report by Peoples Gazette, which highlighted that one of the conditions for restoring Eni and Shell’s oil prospecting licence OPL 245 last year was the transfer of Eni’s onshore assets to Oando.
“Having already obtained all other relevant local and regulatory authorities’ authorisations, this achievement will allow Eni to proceed to the completion of the transaction for the sale of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC Ltd), Eni’s wholly owned subsidiary focusing on onshore oil & gas exploration and production as well as power generation in Nigeria, to Oando PLC, Nigeria’s leading national energy solutions provider,” Eni added.
However, Eni excluded a five percent stake in the Shell Production Development Company Joint Venture (SPDJV) from the transaction. “NAOC Ltd’s participating interest in SPDC JV (Shell Production Development Company Joint Venture – operator Shell 30%, TotalEnergies 10%, NAOC 5%, NNPC 55%) is not included in the perimeter of the transaction and will be retained in Eni’s portfolio,” the statement clarified.
Initially, officials from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) opposed the sale, arguing that Eni lacked the necessary authorization. However, they eventually relented upon discovering that the president had a personal stake in the transaction, sources told The Gazette.
The acquisition of NAOC by Oando marks a significant shift in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, raising questions about potential conflicts of interest given the familial connection to President Tinubu.
