ABUJA Reuters - Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has withheld his initial approval of Exxon Mobil's sale of local offshore shallow water assets to Seplat after the oil regulator refused to give its consent.
Buhari consented to the $1.28 billion deal on Monday, only for the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission to say it opposed the deal, even though it did not give a reason.
The deal is closely watched by other oil majors like Shell and TotalEnergies, who have announced plans to sell some local assets.
The regulators are allowed to do their job because of the decision by the president. He is withholding his earlier approval for now to allow the process to be completed, that is basically it, presidential spokesman Garba Shehu told Reuters.
Seplat said it had received no official notification of Buhari's about-turn and is seeking clarification from authorities.
Oil majors in Nigeria want to leave shallow water operations, citing concerns about disruptions by local communities and focus on deep water drilling.