We’re not opposed to Agip Oil share sales to Oando -NNPCL

NNPCL Retail Records N18.4bn Profit

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that it was never opposed to the sale of the shares of Agip Oil Company to Oando Plc. In a statement signed by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the company, Garba Deen Muhammad said the letter to Agip Oil did not indicate it was opposed to the deal. In a letter to the Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd, dated September 4, and signed by Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited, Ali Muhammed Zarah, NNPCL said if the deal goes through, it would have far-reaching contractual/legal implications in relation to the joint Operating Agreement dated July 1991 governing the operations of the NAOC/NEPL/OOL Joint venture. NNPCL said in the letter that its consent as a member of the joint venture member operating ENI’s onshore asset, was not obtained before the planned divestment to Oando. This it said was against contract rules governing the joint venture operation, and could affect the deal. The statement reads, “It has come to our notice that a routine communication in the form of a letter written by NNPC E&P Limited (NEPL) to its JV Partner, Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) is being interpreted to suggest that NNPC Ltd. is opposed to the sale of NAOC shares to Oando PLC. This is not correct.  “NNPC Ltd. wishes to state that the letter was sent by NEPL, an NNPC Ltd. subsidiary. However, nowhere was opposition or objection to the transaction mentioned in the letter. “NEPL is only drawing attention to certain important clauses in the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) between it, NAOC and OOL; which might have been overlooked in error. Adherence to those clauses will protect the transaction, now and in the future.” Oil major Eni had in a press release saying that it had signed an agreement with Oando, an energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, for the sale of all its stake in Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC Ltd), a wholly-owned subsidiary focusing on onshore oil & gas exploration and production in Nigeria, as well as power generation.

IPMAN opposes state governments’ bid for downstream regulatory control

Eteo oil Spill destroyed communities’ source of water – Rights group Health of Mother Health Foundation (HOMEF), has again decried the recent oil spills that ravaged Aleto and Eteo communities in Eleme Local Government of Rivers State, saying it has crippled farming and fishing activities in the area. HOMEF said the spills also destroyed the communities’ only source of potable water. HOMEF and members of Oilwatch Nigeria that paid a visits to the two scenes recently for an on-the-spot assessment to ascertain the level of response and possible cleanup of the affected environment said it met the environment still in a sorry situation as nothing is being done to salvage or clean the pollutions caused by the spills. A statement by HOMEF on Saturday by the Media and Communication Lead, Kome Odhomor, Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, expressed displeasure that the oil companies are neither decommissioning their aged infrastructure nor ensuring that their facilities are in good working condition. He regretted that rather than remediating the harm caused by their activities, more investments are being made by the oil companies to expand the areas of threat. Bassey further lamented that two months after the spill occurred, the companies have yet to respond and interface with the communities in any meaningful way. “It was heartbreaking to listen to the lamentation of the community women who now have no source of potable water and cannot process their cassava, a major staple due to the pollution of their stream. The insensitivity of the polluters and regulatory agencies is appalling. These atrocious incidents are also compounding the work of HYPREP. While the agency is working to clean some areas, these polluting incidents are threatening to erase their efforts.” During the site visits, coordinator, Peoples Advancement Centre (PAC), and member Oilwatch Nigeria Celestine Akpobari, called on NOSDRA and other relevant agencies of government to do the needful and send relief materials to the starving people immediately. “It is sad and very embarrassing that a spill of this magnitude at Eteo would happen in very close proximity to human habitation and the NPDC and the government of Nigeria carry on as if nothing has happened to the people. It is worse that the spill has affected the community's only source of drinking water. It is not enough to just sneak in at night to clamp the pipe, the right thing must be done.” While receiving the team of CSOs who visited his palace, His Royal Highness Emere Emmanuel T. Akobe the Paramount ruler of Eteo community expressed shock over the attitude of the NPDC saying, “Our beautiful stream is dead, My people don’t deserve this type of treatment and after we have brought the notice of the National Assembly, there is still no response from them, and my people continue to suffer the impact of the spill.” HOMEF reiterates that Aleto and Eteo communities and the entire Niger Delta must not be treated like disposable or sacrifice zones for profit-seeking endeavors. NOSDRA should be more proactive in meeting the challenging situations of oil spills in the region, while the polluting companies should urgently halt their polluting activities, clean up their spills, and pay compensation to affected individuals and communities. The CSOs also demanded that oil companies decommission all aged pipelines and facilities in the region in line with UNEP recommendations in the assessment of the Ogoni environment.

The Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) has expressed strong disapproval towards the recent endeavours of various State governments to assume the role of regulators in the Southeast’s downstream petroleum operations. Mr. Chinedu Anyaso, the Chairman of IPMAN’s Enugu Depot, which oversees Anambra, Ebonyi, and Enugu States, conveyed these concerns during an interview in Awka on Sunday. Anyaso underscored that State governments lack the necessary standardized and approved equipment essential for accurately measuring dispensing machines. Moreover, he asserted that these governments do not possess the authority to oversee the intricate operations within the downstream petroleum sector. IPMAN has vehemently criticized the actions of state governments, which have involved entering marketers’ establishments under the pretense of price enforcement and dispensing machine monitoring. Anyaso highlighted that the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) remains the sole constitutionally-empowered entity responsible for regulating downstream sector activities. He emphasized that if states intend to collaborate in this sphere, they should work in conjunction with NMDPRA. In his explanation, Anyaso reinforced that state governments lack the requisite authority to perform regulatory functions concerning downstream operators. Their lack of expertise is evident, and even the instruments they employ—termed “seraphim bottles”—have not been certified as properly calibrated for accurate measurements. “NMDPRA is the only body empowered by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), Sec 48 (1), to carry out all the regulatory activities in the sector. “IPMAN Enugu depot condemns the invasion of our filling stations; Anambra government did it and we protested but most recently, the Enugu State government is doing the same thing with deliberate effort to blackmail some of our members. “This is sheer overzealousness on the part of some aides of governors. We call on our governors to call these people to order, to avoid putting IPMAN on a collision course with state governments,” he warned. Anyaso said IPMAN was not absolving its members of sharp practices but insisted that state governments should collaborate with NMDPRA, established by the Federal Government to supervise the sector if the need arises. “IPMAN is not by any means saying that all our members are free from malpractice. We are not holding brief for them either; all we are saying is that things should be done properly by the appropriate authority. “NMDPRA has offices in almost all the states, so state governments should work with them. On our part, IPMAN has a taskforce as an internal mechanism to check infractions by our members,” he said.