Lagos — A Federal High Court sitting in Lagos on Wednesday refused to entertain a motion filed by an oil conglomerate, Statoil Nigeria Limited, seeking to vacate the interim order restraining it from the proceeds and earnings from the oil firm's 18.5 per cent interest in the Agbami oil field operated by ChevronTexaco.

It would be recalled that the in-law of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Dr. John Abebe, and his company, Inducon Nigeria Limited, had sued Statoil over alleged breach of agreement reached sometime in 1990.

The court, presided over by Justice Charles Archibong, had while ruling on the ex-parte motion filed by Abebe, ordered Statoil to open an escrow account with a reputable financial institution within the jurisdiction of the court where all revenues, income, funds, profits proceeds and earnings from the oil firm's 18.5 per cent interest in the Agbami oil field operated by ChevronTexaco and located in concession acreages of OML 127 and OML 128 be deposited in the name of the Chief Registrar of the court pending the determination of the suit.

The judge had also ruled that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, ChevronTexaco In Nigeria, Petrobras in Nigeria and Ocean Energy (Devon) in Nigeria, must be notified about the order.

At Wednesday's proceedings, counsel to Statoil, Fidelis Oditta, urged the court to hear his application to discharge the order on the ground that the ex-parte order was inappropriate.

But Abebe's counsel, Uche Nwokedi (SAN), told the court that he had filed an application for contempt proceedings and disobedience of court order against the respondent for not complying with the order of the court and willfully disobeying its order.

However, Oditta countered that he was just served with the contempt proceedings, arguing that having just been served with the application, it was not ripe for hearing.

Instead, Oditta urged the court to hear his application to discharge the order, saying that to the best of his knowledge, no proceeds have so far accrued to the respondent from the Agbami Oil Field project and that there was no violation of the court order.

He said there would not be any lifting of crude from the Agbami Oil Field project till the end of the month, which invariably made the application for contempt premature.

But Justice Archibong, who drew the attention of Oditta to Order 13 Rule 2 of the Federal High Court rule, directed him to depose to an affidavit to that effect.

He added that he was not ready to entertain anything until he was satisfied that his order had been complied with or not.

Justice Archibong said: "The only thing I know is ripe for hearing right now is the fate of the order given by this court.

"There is no way a court can proceed when there is a motion for contempt hanging before it. I don't know why I should hear another application when the order given by this court has been flouted,' the judge stated.

The case was then adjourned to March 29 for continuation.

According to the matter, Abebe averred that the British Petroleum approached him sometime in April 1990, and expressed it interest in the opportunities in the Nigerian oil industry together with its partner, Statoil of Stavanger, Norway, with whom it had entered into alliance agreement.