Former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete,
By Yemi Ajayi
By Yemi Ajayi
But for the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan, the dispute between Malabu Oil and Gas as well as Shell Petroleum Development Company over the operation of Oil Prospecting Lease 245, belonging to the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Chief Dan Etete, would not have been resolved.
THISDAY gathered at the weekend that the president had summoned SPDC officials to a meeting early this year to reach an amicable solution on the rift that had snowballed into a prolonged legal tussle over the ownership of the oil block allotted to Etete’s Malabu Oil and Gas, with Shell designated as a minority partner.
Shell was billed to operate the oil block on behalf of Malabu, but negotiations between the two firms fell through, leading to the protracted legal battle.
Sources said the president, at the meeting, convinced the Shell officials on the need to withdraw their suit from court and to pay Malabu for OPL 245.
At the meeting, the president was said to have impressed it on Shell that he had known Etete for decades and wanted a full and final resolution of the dispute between the parties and that Shell should seriously consider the demands made by Malabu. The president and Etete both hail from Bayelsa State.
That meeting, THISDAY learnt, set the ball rolling for negotiations between Shell, Italy’s Agip and Malabu, during which both multinationals agreed to acquire OPL 245 from Malabu for $1.3 billion through the federal government.
The presidential intervention also facilitated the approval of a Memorandum of Understanding signed by the parties by oil regulatory authorities.
Shell and its partner, Nigerian Agip Oil Company, agreed to pay $1.3 billion for complete ownership of OPL 245, an offshore oil field near Nigeria's coast, which has a production capacity of about 9.23 million barrels of crude oil.
It was learnt that prior to the presidential intervention, the Department of Petroleum Resources had balked at approving the MoU, arguing that the transfer of the oil block to Shell would require a new production sharing contract since the indigenisation programme under which Malabu got the oil block in 1998, stipulates that 40 percent of the acreage must be owned by a local company.
However, with the president’s intervention, DPR made a recommendation to Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, for approval, apparently at the behest of the president.
It was also learnt that the money was not paid directly to Etete’s company, but to the federal government for onward transfer to Malabu.
A source familiar with the deal confirmed that the DPR was compelled to recommend the approval of the deal to Alison-Madueke, who in turn approved it.
He, however, declined to comment on whether or not a new PSC was signed by the parties, stating that the direction to approve the deal without further delay “came from Aso Rock.”
“I can confirm that Shell actually paid for the block. The deed for document was prepared and forwarded to the minister for approval. So the deal has been concluded,” said the source.
In separate statements, Shell and NAOC confirmed the purchase of the prolific oil block. Shell said the field's production would be split 50-50 between the two companies, with Eni running the operations of the deep-water oil drilling and production.
The companies said they did not negotiate with Malabu Oil and Gas to buy the oil block, with Shell saying it paid its portion of the purchase price to the federal government.
It is uncertain if Etete got the full sum of $1.3 billion paid by Shell and Agip for the block, a presidency source, however, disclosed that the former oil minister has certainly smiled home to the bank with several hundreds of millions of dollars.
It is uncertain if Etete got the full sum of $1.3 billion paid by Shell and Agip for the block, a presidency source, however, disclosed that the former oil minister has certainly smiled home to the bank with several hundreds of millions of dollars.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com