Nigeria's Seplat targets cost cuts, keeps acquisitions on the radar

* Seplat targets 30% cost cuts in 2021
* ANOH completion pushed to 1H 2022
* Aims to eliminate gas flaring by 2023
* Supplying Waltersmith refinery in U.S. dollars

By Libby George
LAGOS, March 1 (Reuters) - Nigerian oil and gas company
Seplat SEPLAT.LG aims to cut costs and is looking out for
acquisitions even after the crash in crude prices eroded its
2020 revenue.
Seplat's revenue slid 24% in 2020 to $530.5 million, the
company reported on Monday, but Chief Executive Roger Brown said
its strong cash generation and focus on gas made it a "robust
business."
Seplat's shares on the London Stock Exchange were trading
roughly 2% higher at 82.8 pence at 1100 GMT. It is also listed
in Lagos.
COVID-19 undercut global fuel demand, driving oil prices
down to near 20-year lows. Seplat's average oil price last year
plunged 38% to $39.95 per barrel. Its gas sales also fell, which
it attributed to constrained demand due to the pandemic and to
production delays. O/R
The drop dragged annual earnings before tax, depreciation
and amortization down 44.7% to $265.8 million. Sep lat also
booked a $144.3 million impairment due to a revaluation of
assets and financial asset charges amid the price crash.
COVID-19 delays pushed expected completion of gas processing
plant Assai North-Ohaji South (ANKH) to early 2022, from the
fourth quarter of 2021, and slowed progress on the
Amukpe-Escravos Pipeline, an alternative to the Trans Tornados
Pipeline that Sep lat hopes will help it stem the 9.4% of oil it
loses due to theft.
However, Sep lat cut $17 million in costs in 2020, and
targets 30% in additional cost cuts in 2021.
Sepal's London-listed shares fell to as low as 46.10 on
March 20 last year as the impact of the pandemic hit markets but
since late October they have been steadily rising although they
are still well below 128 pence, their level at the start of
2020.
Brown told Reuters in an interview that completed financing
for ANKH, a deal to supply modular refinery Walters with oil,
and Nigerian power tariff price increases were other positive
developments. Sep lat supplies 30% of the gas to Nigeria's power sector.
Brown said Sep lat expected to eliminate all its gas flaring
by 2023, and said the retrenchment of international oil majors
would create ample acquisition opportunities.
"Companies like ours that are well run and well capitalized
... we will start to see in the coming years some very, very
good opportunities," he said.