THE Department of Petroeum Resources (DPR) appears to be enmeshed in a seismic data racketeering scandal, even in the face of series of inquiries by the Federal Government into the Department's activities under the Olusegun Obasanjo administration.

It was gathered that the National Data Repository (NDR) established in 2005 under the supervision of the DPR has been stripped and available data in its holding given to a private consultancy outfit selling same to the public for personal gain.

Following the exit of the Obasanjo administration there has been recriminations in the DPR, and the fortunes of the NDR has taken a downward plunge with all milestones for the data population of the centre missed and the expansion of the computer data base deferred.

Operating companies and those aspiring to join in exploration and production activities have complained of lack of access to available data at the NDR, while noting that of the Department is being eroded by the activities of elements fronting as consultancy outfits.

Vanguard learnt that one of the indigenous operators which won Oil Prospecting Leases in the 2007 bid round recently sought to pry the data on the affected oil blocks and approached the DPR offering to pay the mandatory $25,000 per block.

Even though the data in question was used by the Department in the 2007 bid round, officials of the DPR informed the company that the data was not available in the NDR.

Instead, a group fronting as a consultancy firm has approached the indigenous company with an offer to make the data available from its own 'sources' at a prying fee of US$150,000 per block in the first instance.

Oil Prospecting Leases were usually relinquished by the exploration and production companies under the mandatory relinquishment programme of the last administration and all data acquired on the blocks by the previous operators retrieved to the NDR and used for the 2007 bid round.

The companies seeking to pry these data are those which have paid their signature bonuses in full and met other conditions imposed by Government.

Vanguard gathered that even after paying in full for the affected blocks, some of these companies have incurred immense financial loses waiting for over 2 years to obtain data and commence work or even to be allocated the blocks in some other instances. When contacted, Mrs Belema Osibodu, Assitant Director in charge of Public Affairs at the Department expressed surprise at the development, adding that those in charge of the NDR are people of integrity.

"The people behind the NDR have long standing in the DPR and would not stoop so low to compromise themselves," she said. She also noted that the allegations were quite serious, adding that she would like to have the name of the consultancy firm or those behind it to enable the Department investigate further and clear the air.

Investigations show that prior to the establishment of NDR at the DPR, essential oil and gas data ranging from seismic and well data to historical oil field reports and prospect evaluation studies, were resident in data centres and libraries of multinational oil companies located abroad and in foreign consultancy outfits such as Woodmac, IHS, PGS, VERITAS etc, who hawk such information to prospective investors in the oil and gas sector at huge costs.

The establishment of the NDR was aimed at housing all of Nigeria's oil and gas data in country under the management of the DPR and make such data available to prospective investors locally at substantial revenues to Government, particularly during Bidding Rounds for Oil Blocks.

Since the NDR was launched in the 2005 Bid Round, the DPR reported that it has realised over US$25 million in data prying and data leasing services.

Some operators who spoke with Vanguard sounded alarmed by the development, while noting that without a functional NDR, the organisation of credible bid rounds by the DPR will be impossible and would represent another example of the policy reversals of the present administration.

These operators pointed out that government needs to take urgent steps to save the DPR from further decay, adding that the current situation was the fallout of leaving such an important regulatory agency at the mercy of incompetent leadership.

'It is high time Government rectified the appalling situation. In answer to the question put to him by the Adhoc Committee of the House of Representatives investigating the NNPC and the DPR, to justify the holding of the 2007 Bid Round at the tail end of the last administration, Dr. Edmund Daukoru, the former Petroleum Minister said, "On hindsight it was probably a good thing the Round was conducted then, because the global economy has since taken a down-turn, and I am not sure that we would have had the same response now or realised as much revenue from signature bonuses as we did then".

He apparently foretold the drawbacks that the oil and gas industry is now saddled with.