Emmanuel Thomas, Lagos
October 7, 2015 – One of Nigeria’s major oil companies, Forte Oil Plc has sold off 17 percent stake to the global oil player, Mercuria Energy Group Holdings.
The 17 percent stake is worth $200 million. Mercuria operates in over 50 countries with over 1000 workers. In 2014, the company declared a total turnover of $106 billion, while total trading volume stood at 274 million.
In a statement in Lagos, Forte Oil said it has through the investment secured additional working capital to continue its “meteoric growth and dominance in the downstream sector, upstream services, power generation and upstream exploration in its bid to becoming Nigeria’s premier integrated energy solutions provider.
It added that Mercuria is joining forces with Forte Oil at an auspicious time when equitable funding and expertise is needed to expand and intensify its market penetration to give the company the leverage to further create a positive impact on all shareholders.
“This is another step towards projecting Forte Oil Plc as the investment of choice as reflected in our mission statement.
“The investment, which has been approved by the Nigerian Stock Exchange and the Securities and Exchange Commission, is geared towards improving the group’s working capital and will be used for the expansion of the downstream and power generation business in Nigeria as well as positioning itself for future opportunities in the Nigerian oil and gas sector, ” the company said in the statement.
