Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc says it has entered into an agreement with Sacoil Holdings Limited (now Efora Energy Limited) to settle all existing legal disputes around its Oil Prospecting Licence 281 (OPL 281).
The agreement provides for the full and final settlement of all disputes and claims of both parties in connection with a participating interest in OPL 281 previously assigned to Efora in October 2006. The resolution of the dispute is significant, given that it is one of the legacy issues which the core investor that took over Transcorp in 2011 inherited, and has been taking steps to resolve.
Under the terms of the announced settlement, both parties agreed to forgo their respective claims against each other and discontinue pending lawsuits and arbitration in relation to their claims. In addition, Transcorp will pay a total sum of $5.5million over a period of thirteen months to Efora.
“I am glad that the mutual understanding that resulted in our partnership at inception has brought about this win-win resolution with great potential for future cooperation,” Owen Omogiafo, president/CEO of Transcorp.
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“We see this as a significant development that will pave way for our planned development and optimization of the Oil & Gas asset without legal constraints. OPL 281 remains a prolific asset that will contribute substantially to the performance of the company upon completion of its development,” Omogiafo said.
Damain Matroos, Efora’s CEO, said he was happy to have brought the matter to a close during these challenging economic times “and this removes one more legacy issue for the Group”.
“The conclusion of this matter and the receipt of these funds would also allow the Group to allocate more time and resources to invest in new initiatives to generate value for our shareholders,” Matroos said.
One of the underlining strengths of the Transcorp Group is the quality of its assets and the OPL 281 oil block is a significant part of its portfolio. It recently added to its energy asset mix, a 1000MW power generation plant – Afam Power, making it the leading power producer in Nigeria with a combined installed capacity of 1936MW across its power plants.
