Heirs Energies Limited, owned by Nigerian businessman Tony Elumelu, has acquired a 20.07 percent equity stake in Seplat Energy Plc from French energy firm Maurel & Prom in a transaction valued at approximately $500 million, making it the single largest shareholder in the company.
The acquisition, which strengthens indigenous participation in Nigeria’s energy sector, involves the purchase of the entire Maurel & Prom holding in Seplat Energy and was supported by two major African financial institutions, Afreximbank and the Africa Finance Corporation (AFC).
The deal comes just one week after Heirs Energies secured a $750 million financing facility from Afreximbank to support its ongoing operations and expansion plans, positioning the company to execute large scale transactions across the energy value chain.
With the completion of the transaction, Heirs Energies further consolidates its footprint in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector. Seplat Energy currently produces about 286 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day (kboepd), while Heirs Energies produces approximately 70 kboepd.
In total, the combined daily production capacity of both companies stands at about 356 kboepd, comprising roughly 266 thousand barrels of oil per day (kbopd) and about 490 million cubic feet of gas per day (mmcfd).
The acquisition also deepens Tony Elumelu’s influence across Nigeria’s energy landscape. His power generation companies, Transcorp Power in Delta State and TransAfam Power in Rivers State, account for about 17 percent of Nigeria’s electricity supply, while the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) services a 126,000 square kilometre area covering Abuja, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger states.
A prominent advocate of African led development, Elumelu has consistently emphasised the need for Africans to take ownership of strategic assets, reinforcing his long-held belief that “No One But Us Will Fix Africa.”
Ademide Adebayo
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