The Nigerian president approved the acquisition by using his power as the minister of petroleum resources, according to a statement issued on Monday by the Presidency and published on the microblogging platform Twitter.

According to the statement, Buhari approved the acquisition in order to draw foreign direct investment to the country.

Additionally, he directed Seplat and Exxon Mobil to reduce all environmental and abandonment liabilities.

The statement read: “In his capacity as Minister of Petroleum Resources, and consonance with the country’s drive for Foreign Direct Investment in the energy sector, President @MBuhari has consented to the acquisition of the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited by Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.

“Exxon Mobil had entered into a landmark Sale & Purchase Agreement with Seplat Energy to acquire the entire share capital of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited from Exxon Mobil Corporation, Mobil Development Nigeria Inc, & Mobil Exploration Nigeria Inc, registered in Delaware, USA.

“Considering the extensive benefits of the transaction to the Nigerian Energy sector and the larger economy, President @MBuhari has given Ministerial Consent to the deal.

“The President, in commitment to investment drive in light of the Petroleum Industry Act, granted consent to the Share Sales Agreement, as requested by the parties to the transaction, and directed that the approval be conveyed to all the parties involved.”

Exxon Mobil and Seplat are, however, expected to carry out operatorship of all the oil mining licenses in the related shallow water assets towards production optimization to support Nigeria’s OPEC quota in the short term as well as ensure accelerated development and monetization of the gas resources in the assets for the Nigerian economy.