Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, a leading indigenous Nigerian oil, and gas company, on Thursday in Lagos reiterated its commitment to stronger growth in the oil and gas sector.
Addressing shareholders at the annual general meeting in Lagos, chairman of the company, Dr. ABC Orjiakor spoke of plans to selectively invest in low-risk oil production drilling opportunities within the existing portfolio.
This, he said, is in addition to the continued expansion of its gas business, while intensifying activities at its large scale Assa-North and Ohaji-South (ANOH) gas and condensate development.
There are also plans, he continued, to lower production cost and ensure more discretionary capital and enable the business to have free cash flow for improved profit.
“In the absence of any major interruption or force majeure event, this will enable Seplat to honour its dividend policy and provide an attractive yield to our shareholders in addition to the potential for capital appreciation.”
Dr. Orjiako said that the company’s 2018 operational and financial performance reflected the significantly higher year-on-year levels of production uptime at its core oil producing assets combined with a firmer, albeit still volatile, oil price and increased contribution from the company’s gas business.
He recalled that operations in “the previous two years were characterized by the extended period of force majeure at the Forcados terminal from February 2016 to June 2017.
Seplat, he stressed, “remains an ambitious growth-orientated company that is in a position of strength to capture inorganic opportunities where we can leverage our competitive advantages to seek out carefully considered, price disciplined and value accretive acquisitions. Finally, I would like to thank all our employees and wider stakeholders for their efforts and continuing support and I look forward to updating all of our stakeholders on our progress throughout the year ahead.”
Orjiakor also spoke of plans to raise production, drive increased shareholder value through capital appreciation.
Also speaking at the event, Chief Executive Officer of Seplat Petroleum, Austin Avuru, said: “Seplat has delivered an excellent operational and financial performance resulting in robust profitability and cash flow generation, providing us with an extremely solid foundation for growth in the coming years. At our core assets in the West, OMLs 4, 38 and 41, the extension of the license to 2038 means that we can confidently plan and invest long into the future to realize the full potential of those blocks.
“As Seplat continues to enhance production and revenue diversification with new wells scheduled at OML 53 in the East, the board took the Final Investment Decision to invest in the large scale ANOH gas and condensate development which will form the next phase of transformational growth for our gas business. Disciplined capital allocation continues to remain at the core of our activities evidenced by our continual deleveraging of our debt levels to the current balance of US$350m,” he added.
Avuru said the company’s board recommended a final dividend of US$0.05 per share to all its shareholders.
“In 2018, Seplat reinstated the dividend, increased capital investments and with the resources and headroom in our capital structure, we are equipped to capitalize on organic and inorganic growth opportunities as they may arise,” he assured.
He also announced that Seplat board has taken the Final Investment Decision for the ANOH and Amukpe to Escravos alternate export pipeline which will be completed and fully commissioned in Q2 2019. These projects are part of the future expansion initiatives of Seplat in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Seplat announced ₦228bn in total revenue for the full year-end December 31, 2018, representing an increase of 65% from the ₦137bn reported in 2017, from which it recorded ₦73bn profit before differed tax, indicating 480% increase from ₦13bn over the same period in 2017. Profit after tax however dipped by 45% from ₦81bn in 2017 to ₦45bn.

Photo Caption: Chief Executive of Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, Austin Avuru (2nd left), answering a question during the company’s annual general meeting on May 16, 2019. He is flanked by Basil Omiyi, a director (left); Dr. A.B.C. Orjiako, Chairman (second right); and Roger Brown, Chief Financial Officer (right).