Heirs acquires 45% stake in OML 17 oilfield license in Nigeria

African investment firm Heirs Holdings has acquired a 45% participating stake in Nigerian oil licence OML 17 and related assets from Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC), Total E&P Nigeria, and ENI, for $1.1bn.

OML 17 is said to have a production of 27,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, an estimated 2P reserves of 1.2 billion barrels of oil equivalent and with a further exploration potential of another 1 billion barrels.

The $1.1bn deal has been supported by a consortium of banks and investors. Heirs partnered with its affiliated company Transnational Corporation of Nigeria and acquired the stake through TNOG Oil and Gas, a related company of Heirs and Transcorp.

The transaction has been completed after securing approvals from the relevant authorities under the Government of Nigeria. TNOG will be the sole operator of the OML 17 oilfield.

SPDC sold 30% of its stake to Heirs and Total E&P Nigeria and ENI sold 10% and 5% of their stakes, respectively, in the lease.

SPDC further said that it had received $533m as its share of payment from the transaction.

Heirs Holdings chairman Tony Elumelu said: “We have a very clear vision: creating Africa’s first integrated energy multinational, a global quality business, uniquely focused on Africa and Africa’s energy needs.

“The acquisition of such a high-quality asset, with significant potential for further growth, is a strong statement of our confidence in Nigeria, the Nigerian oil and gas sector and a tribute to the extremely high-quality management team that we have assembled.

“We see significant benefits from integrating our production, with our ability to power Nigeria, through Transcorp, and deliver value across the energy value chain.”