Onwuka Nzeshi
2 October 2008
Abuja — There are strong indications that the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries may recommend the revocation of licences issued by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) during the 2006 oil blocks mini-bid round.
The ad hoc committee, THISDAY learnt, has begun compilation of its report for submission to the House on resumption of plenary in a week's time.
The Hon. Igo Aguma-led committee, which has been meeting during the Salah break is said to have taken far reaching decisions on some of the controversial oil blocks and might have recommended their cancellation and retrieval from those currently in possession of them.
Specifically, THISDAY checks revealed that the blocks awarded to Indian firm, ONGC Mittal, the Korean National Oil Corporation (KNOC) and the Chinese National Oil Corporation (CNOC) are top on the list of those likely to be revoked due to the controversies surrounding their ownership.
THISDAY gathered that the committee heads have decided that the clause which gave one of the companies the right to produce 650,000bpd before fulfilling its downstream obligations should be renegotiated if the firm wish to retain the block.
Abura fields located in the Niger Delta, originally operated by the Nigeria Petroleum Development Corporation (NDPC), a subsidiary of the NNPC as OML 65, but later farmed out and given to CNOC, is also being recommended to be handed over to the NPDC.
The NPDC had during the public hearing in June said the field currently produced 850,000 bpd and had a developed resource in the area to the tune of $1.18 billion and an undeveloped value of $1.10 billion which brings the total value to $2.282 billion.
But the last administration renamed it OPL 298 and gave it to the CNOC and equally converted it to OPL.
It was in operation under the Abura fields as OML 65 renamed OPL 298 and given the CNPC after being converted to OPL.
The committee had during one of its sittings expressed worries that some foreign oil companies used fictitious names during the mini-bid round and might have connived with some highly influential Nigerians including traditional rulers to acquire choice oil blocks without following the laid down rules in such transactions.
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