Nigerian energy magnates Bryant Orjiako, Austin Avuru to pocket $2.15 million in Seplat dividends

Following a $4.3-million dividend this year, Nigerian energy magnates Ambrosie Bryant Orjiako and Austin Avuru are set to receive another interim dividend of $2.15 million from their stakes in Seplat Energy.

The payout, which represents the group’s third interim dividend of the year, will be paid from its retained earnings of more than $1.2 billion accrued over time since its inception over a decade ago, following the merger of Shebah Petroleum Development Company and Platform Petroleum Joint Ventures.

Seplat Energy is an independent oil and gas company with active operations and oil assets in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. In order to expand its operations, the energy company plans to buy ExxonMobil’s oil and gas assets in Nigeria.

Orjiako and Avuru, who both played critical roles in the formation of Seplat Energy in 2009 and its expansion in the Nigerian energy industry, each own a significant 6.43-percent and 8.2-percent stake in the energy firm, respectively.

On Nov. 10, the energy magnates will receive a combined $2.15 million in interim dividends from their stakes in the company, representing a fraction of the company’s $11.02-million interim dividend approved by the board as a pay-out to shareholders for the third quarter of 2022.

The dividend payment in November will net Orjiako and Avuru $945,463 and $1,206,204, respectively, bringing their total dividend earnings this year to $2.84 million and $3.62 million.

The announcement of the third interim dividend payment comes after Seplat Energy reported a profit of more than $70 million in the first nine months of its 2022 fiscal year thanks to a double-digit percent increase in global oil prices.

The increase in earnings from $35 million to $73.9 million can be attributed to higher realized oil prices as a result of the impact of the Ukraine conflict on global energy prices and a post-pandemic recovery in international oil demand.

According to Seplat’s recently published financial statement, total revenue from oil and gas sales was $618.6 million during the period under review, a 34.4-percent increase from the $460.4 million sold the previous year, while total crude oil revenue increased by 44.8 percent to $534.9 million from $369.5 million.