…Seplat Sells 10% of Its Prized NNPC Joint Venture Back to the Partner Who Once Fought to Block It
The $281.6 million disposal hands NNPC majority control of the OMLs it shares with SEPNU, funds a $140 million special dividend, and cuts debt — while trimming Seplat’s 2030 production ambitions by 15%
Seplat Energy Plc has agreed to sell a 10% working interest in its flagship NNPC joint venture back to Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) for a headline transaction value of approximately $281.6 million, according to a corporate action notice filed by the company on 30 July 2026.
The deal, structured through subsidiaries Seplat Energy Offshore Limited (SEOL) and Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited (SEPNU), will lift NNPC’s working interest in the joint venture from 60% to 70%, while SEPNU retains a 30% interest and stays on as operator.
The transaction carries a notable layer of irony. The underlying assets — Oil Mining Leases 67, 68, 70 and 104, plus the Qua Iboe export terminal and Bonny River Terminal — came to Seplat via its 2022-2024 acquisition of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (renamed SEPNU) from ExxonMobil, a deal NNPC itself tried to block using pre-emption rights and a court injunction before the transaction finally closed in December 2024 for $1.28 billion.
Less than two years after finally securing full control, Seplat is now selling a slice of that same asset back to the very partner that once contested its ownership — this time on terms both sides have signed as a legally binding Heads of Agreement.
The Deal Snapshot
The $281.6 million price tag represents roughly 25% of the gross consideration Seplat originally paid to acquire SEPNU’s full share capital, the company said — a rough read-through suggesting NNPC is paying close to what Seplat itself valued the wider asset at two years ago, even after intervening production and reserve depletion.
Where the Money Goes
Seplat says it will apply the proceeds evenly under its capital allocation framework: roughly 50% toward debt reduction and 50% toward enhanced shareholder returns. In dollar terms that splits to approximately $140.8 million on each side of the ledger.
On the shareholder side, the company will pay a transaction-related cash dividend of approximately $140 million — 7 US cents per share — on top of its regular underlying business performance dividend of 5 US cents, once the deal completes.
That continues a pattern of aggressive capital returns this year: Seplat’s 1Q 2026 dividend already rose 96% year-over-year to 9.0 cents per share, and the company distributed a total of $150 million (25.0 cents/share) for full-year 2025, a 52% increase on 2024.
On the debt side, Seplat says it is targeting repayment of up to $300 million of gross debt. Of that, $200 million tied to the Advanced Payment Facility (APF) was already repaid in the second quarter of 2026, ahead of this transaction’s completion, with the remaining $100 million due once the NNPC deal closes.
The company entered 2026 with net debt of $673 million and a net debt/EBITDA ratio of just 0.5x after a strong 2025, and further cut net debt by 21% to $531.6 million in the first quarter of 2026.
The Trade-Off: Smaller Slice, Smaller Long-Term Barrels
The disposal is not without cost to Seplat’s growth story. Management confirmed that its 2030 target of 200 kboepd on a net working-interest basis adjusts down to 170 kboepd — a 15% reduction — to reflect the smaller ownership stake in the JV.
Group 2P reserves are also set to fall by approximately 13% to 872.9 million boe following the reserves update tied to the transaction, with a formal revision to be issued upon completion.
In the near term, the company said its 2026 group production guidance of 135-155 kboepd is unaffected in operational terms — SEPNU represents about 80 kboepd at the midpoint of that range, though with the 1 April 2026 effective date applied retrospectively, the JV’s contribution to the current-year figure would technically fall closer to 65 kboepd. Full guidance will be updated once the deal closes.
Importantly, Seplat maintains that the transaction proceeds and a lighter capital-expenditure burden associated with the divested interest will “largely offset” the net cash flow impact of the reduced stake through 2030, and the company reiterated its commitment to distribute 40-50% of free cash flow over the 2026-2030 cycle — still targeting at least $1 billion in cumulative shareholder distributions over that period.
CEO Roger Brown framed the transaction as a vote of confidence in the JV’s future rather than a retreat from it:
“The NNPCL/SEPNU JV is one of the pre-eminent licence areas in Nigeria and of strategic importance to the country. Our relations with our partner NNPCL are strong and we are fully aligned on the agreed work programmes,” Brown said, adding that the deal leaves Seplat “on a strong financial footing enabling us to use the proceeds of this disposal to enhance shareholder distributions and further reduce financial leverage.”
 Follow the MoneyCentral Nigeria channel on WhatsApp: Click here!
 to assign a 10% working interest in NNPCL-SEPNU JV){kind=link}