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Allegations surrounding Shell Malabu $1.3 billion Nigerian oil deal

Printed below are several recent articles from Nigerian publications containing allegations of corruption relating to the Shell Malabu 9 billion barrel oil block deal.

EXPOSED! The Secret Deals of Dan Etete & Diezani Madueke

Written by Citizen Reporter

Saturday, 12 November 2011

There is a much Darker side to the OPL 245 Saga that involved former Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete and and the current Petroleum Minister, Mrs Diezani Madueke, which I think the whole world should know about. After the world has discovered the true size of the 9 billion Oil block and the dealings in regard to the owners and Shell Agip bid for the oil block. Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, that belongs to Dan Etete company in 2005 enlisted the services of Dele Adesina & Co to help represent Malabu Oil and Gas in its case against the Government when the Government revoked the Oil license OPL 245.

This decision was taken because Dele Adesina & Co, had worked and represented the Federal Government in the past and Mr. Adesina was very close to the then Attorney General of the Federation Bayo Ojo, former president, Olusegun Obasanjo and former Special Adviser on Petroleum to Obasanjo, Edmund Daukoru.

Although legally Malabu was in the right but just to make sure it secured the out of court settlement between it and the Nigerian Government; Malabu signed an agreement with Dele Adesina & Co. for services of $29 million USD, out of this money Adesina was to spread substantial amounts to Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoro, it later turned out that Edmund Daukoro wanted about $20 million USD for him self, so an additional contract was signed with Malabu to increase the the $29 million to $50 Million.

So if NNPC approves the Shell/ Agip deal, these players mentioned are going to make a lot of money. Some companies who have invested directly in Malabu oil and gas have already taken legal action in the USA and the UK to secure their share of the money should the government approve the $1.3 billion USD Shell/Agip deal.

In regard to the Shell/ Agip deal, the current President is heavily involved. As we all know, there is evidence, written about in news papers in Nigeria that the President (Goodluck Johnathan) because of his long standing Friendship with Chief Dr. Dan Etete put pressure on Shell to solve the problems with Malabu and NNPC or face further problems in Nigeria.

What people do not know is that Malabu again has through back room deals agreed to pay the current President $50 million USD for his support, and Now through the same players who helped Malabu sort out the settlement issue as mentioned above, have offered $30 million USD to the current Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison- Madueke to secure the Government approval of the Shell/Agip offer.

The Minister has already collected $40 million USD from Agip for her to approve 50% of the OPL 245 License to Agip (How do you think she can buy a house for 20 million Euro in Austria).

Also there is Mr. Mike Adenuga, a close friend of Chief Dan Etete who is also trying to offer the Minister of Petroleum a substantial amount of money for NNPC to give up their right as operator in the Shell oil block he bid for and put in a Deposit of more than $100m USD.

Other groups who also bid for the Shell assets and to save the deal are also coming forward to offer the Minister of Petroleum serious money to back down and give up NNPC right as Operator in order to save the deals.

Now there is an echo of finding a solution to the failed Shell asset sales.

The issue that is very disturbing is that the OPL 245 oil block in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is under an indigenous license. This program was created to protect local oil company participation in the oil industry. Under the guideline with oil blocks under this program, foreign companies cannot take more than 40% interest in the oil block.

Because of the huge amount of money being paid under the table to the Minister of petroleum and the President of Nigeria, NNPC has promised to give Agip 50% of the oil block including Agip being the operator of the block ( this was the $40 million the Minister collected from Agip already) and is also set to approve the joint Shell/Agip bid of $1.3 billion for the reminder of the oil block. Which goes contrary to the laws and intentions of which the license of the oil block was initially given.

Doing this is just pure circumvention of the laws and greed. This is how the Minister of Petroleum is able to pay for her house. People should ask how much money did she have before becoming Minister of Petroleum and also with her current salary as Minister how can she afford this house in Vienna!

Nigerians should raise their voices against all this corrupt practices or the country will never stand strong.

I hope this could be of help to you all who want fair play and justice in Nigeria; also Dele Adesina & Co. Should show receipts of payments made to it by Malabu and even their contract with Malabu, if they can’t that is because the fees in the contract between both parties are so high that it does not confirm with any sort of legal fees comparable with any legal work or law firm in Nigeria or abroad, Who pays a law firm over $30 million USD to negotiate a settlement in a case like this?

In addition to the above; it has come to our attention that the great lawyer Mr. Adesina has started a media black out of this story and similar stories on this topic brought forth by us, by trying to bribe news companies in and around the country. Shell and Agip are also complicit in the bribery of officials in Nigeria through their greed to take as much of the oil rights and licenses as possible.

SOURCE POSTING

Whistle Blower Spills Secret of Denziani Allison-Madueke’s New-Found Wealth

Friday, 11 November 2011 18:42

President Jonathan, Obasanjo, Etete and Lagos Attorney Listed as Part of a Corrupt Ring
Allison-Madueke Denies Owning Vienna Mansion

There are strong indications that the proceeds of an alleged bribe by Nigerian big oil players may have helped to finance the cost of a twenty million dollar Vienna home whose purchase was recently traced to the country’s Minister for Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Allison-Madueke.

Private investigators working the line on the level of deceit and hypocrisy attending the policy thrust of the Goodluck Jonathan administration, known as the transformation agenda, have also stumbled on disturbing connection of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan on the affair, saying he may have collected as much as fifty million dollars to switch sides in the Malabu Oil and Shell Petroleum Development over an oil block identified as OPL 245.

British and Nigeria sources told sharpedgenews.com that President Jonathan, Deziani Allison-Madueke, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, one-time Minister for Petroleum, Mr. Dan Etete and Lagos Lawyer Dele Adesina & Co may have benefitted in the deal to the tune of a hundred and twenty million dollars, catching in on the indigenization provision which precludes foreign companies from owning more than forty percent share of oil investments in Nigeria.

Documents made available to sharpedgenews.com showed that Allison-Madueke was the singular beneficiary of forty million dollars. It was also alleged that a section of the local media in Nigeria was co-opted and settled by the legal consultant who is desperate to keep things under the wraps. In the cause of investigating these claims, it was discovered that Ms. Allison-Madueke tries to insulate herself from every possibility of being personally accountable to the Nigeria people by avoiding direct questions from the media. Instead, NNPC’s public affairs aparatchicks are deployed to respond to questions, even when they know little about her modes of operation.

Below is the detailed report from one of our sources over the matter.

After the world has discovered the true size of the 9 billion Oil block and the dealings in regard to the owners and Shell Agip bid for the oil block, Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, a Dan Etete company, in 2005 enlisted the services of Dele Adesina & Co. to help represent Malabu Oil and Gas in its case against the Government when the Government revoked the Oil license OPL 245. This decision was taken because Dele Adesina & Co, had worked and represented the Federal Government in the past, and Mr. Adesina was very close to the then Attorney General of the Federation Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoru.

Although, legally, Malabu was in the right, but just to make sure it secured the out of court settlement between it and the Nigerian Government, Malabu signed an agreement with  Dele Adesina & Co. for services of $29 million USD. Out of this money, Adesina was to spread substantial amounts to Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoro. It later turned out that Edmund Daukoro wanted about $20 million USD for himself, so an additional contract was signed with Malabu to increase the $29 million to $50 Million.

So if NNPC approves the Shell/ Agip deal these players are mentioned are going to make a lot of money. Some companies who have invested directly in Malabu Oil and Gas have already taken legal action in the USA and the UK to secure their share of the money, should the government approve the $1.3 billion USD Shell/Agip deal.

In regards to the Shell/ Agip deal, and the current President’s involvement as we all know, there is evidence even written in news papers in Nigeria that President Goodluck Johnathan, because of his long standing Friendship with Chief Dr. Dan Etete, put pressure on Shell to solve the problems with Malabu and NNPC or face further problems in Nigeria. What people do not know is that Malabu again has through back room deals agreed to pay the President $50 million USD for his support and now, through the same players who helped Malabu sort out the settlement issue as mentioned above, have offered $30 million USD to the current Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison- Madueke to secure the Government approval of the Shell/Agip offer.

The Minister has already collected $40 million USD from Agip for her to approve 50% of the OPL 245 License to Agip (How do you think she can buy a house for 20 million Euro in Austria?)  Also there is Mr. Adenuga, a close friend of Chief Dan Etete, who is also trying to offer the Minister of Petroleum a substantial amount of money for NNPC to give up their right as operator in the Shell oil block he bid for and put in a Deposit of more than $100m USD. Other groups who also bid for the Shell assets are also coming forward to offer the Minister of Petroleum serious money to back down and give up NNPC right as Operator in order to save the deals. Now there is an echo of finding a solution to the failed Shell asset sales.

The issue that is very disturbing is that the OPL 245 oil block in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is under an indigenous license. This program was created to protect local oil company participation in the oil industry. Under the guideline with oil blocks under this program, foreign companies cannot take more than 40% interest in the oil block. Because of the huge amount of money paid under the table to the Minister of petroleum and the President of Nigeria, NNPC has promised to give Agip 50% of the oil block, including that Agip is the operator of the block (this was the $40 million the Minister collected from Agip already) and is also set to approve the joint Shell/Agip bid of $1.3 billion for the reminder of the oil block.

Which goes contrary to the laws and intentions of which the license of the oil block was initially given. Doing this is just pure circumvention of the laws and greed. This is how the Minister of Petroleum is able to pay for her house. People should ask how much money did she have before becoming Minister of Petroleum and also with her current salary as Minister how can she afford this house in Vienna!!! Nigerians should raise their voices against all this corrupt practices or the country will never stand strong.

I hope this could be of help to all who want fair play and justice in Nigeria. Also, Dele Adesina & Co. should show receipts of payments made to it by Malabu and even their contract with Malabu, if they can’t  that is because the fees in the contract between both parties are so high that it does not confirm with any sort of legal fees comparable with any legal work or law firm in Nigeria or abroad,  Who pays a law firm over $30 million USD to negotiate a settlement in a case like this?

In addition to the above, it has come to our attention that the great lawyer Mr. Adesina has started a media black out of this story and similar stories on this topic brought forth by us, by trying to bribe news companies in and around the country. Shell and Agip are also complicit in the bribery of officials in Nigeria through their greed to take as much of the oil rights and licenses as possible.

SOURCE ARTICLE


Darker Side To Dan Etete’s OPL 245 Saga: Allison Diezani Madueke’s New Cash Cow

Diezani Allison-Madueke

By Citizen Reporter

After the world has discovered the true size of the 9 billion Oil block and the dealings in regard to the owners and Shell Agip bid for the oil block (http://www.businessdayonline.com/NG/index.php/news/76-hot-topic/26715-sh…).

Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd a Dan Etete company in 2005 enlisted the services of Dele Adesina & Co (http://www.deleadesinaandco.com/Cliental.htm) to help represent Malabu Oil and Gas in its case against the Government when the Government revoked the Oil license OPL 245.

This decision was taken because Dele Adesina & Co, had worked and represented the Federal Government in the past and Mr. Adesina was very close to the then Attorney General of the Federation Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoru. Although legally Malabu was in the right but just to make sure it secured the out of court settlement between it and the Nigerian Government; Malabu signed an agreement with  Dele Adesina & Co. for services of $29 million USD, out of this money Adesina was to spread substantial amounts to Bayo Ojo, Obasanjo and Edmund Daukoro, it later turned out that Edmund Daukoro wanted about $20 million USD for him self, so an additional contract was signed with Malabu to increase the the $29 million to $50 Million. So if NNPC approves the Shell/ Agip deal these players are mentioned are going to make allot of money. Some companies who have invested directly in Malabu oil and gas have already taken legal action in the USA and the UK to secure their share of the money should the government approve the $1.3 billion USD Shell/Agip deal.

In regard to the Shell/ Agip deal and the current Presidents involvement as we all know there is evidence even written about in news papers in Nigeria that the President (Goodluck Johnathan) because of his long standing Friendship with Chief Dr. Dan Etete put pressure on Shell to solve the problems with Malabu and NNPC or face further problems in Nigeria, What people do not know is that Malabu again has through back room deals agreed to pay the President $50 million USD for his support, and Now through the same players who helped Malabu sort out the settlement issue as mentioned above, have offered $30 million USD to the current Minister of Petroleum Diezani Alison- Madueke to secure the Government approval of the Shell/Agip offer, The Minister has already collected $40 million USD from Agip for her to approve 50% of the OPL 245 License to Agip (How do you think she can buy a house for 20 million Euro in Austria).  Also there is Mr. Adenuga close friend of Chief Dan Etete who is also trying to offer the Minister of Petroleum a substantial amount of money for NNPC to give up their right as operator in the Shell oil block he bid for and put in a Deposit of more than $100m USD, other groups who also bid for the  Shell assets and to save the deal are also coming forward to offer the Minister of Petroleum serious money to back down and give up NNPC right as Operator in order to save the deals. Now there is an echo of finding a solution to the failed Shell asset sales.

The issue that is very disturbing is that the OPL 245 oil block in the Niger Delta of Nigeria is under an indigenous license, this program was created to protect local oil company participation in the oil industry. Under the guideline with oil blocks under this program, foreign companies can not take more than 40% interest in the oil block. Because of the huge amount of money being paid under the table to the Minister of petroleum and the President of Nigeria, NNPC has promised to give Agip 50% of the oil block including Agip being the operator of the block ( this was the $40 million the Minister collected from Agip already) and is also set to approve the joint Shell/Agip bid of $1.3 billion for the reminder of the oil block. Which goes contrary to the laws and intentions of which the license of the oil block was initially given. Doing this is just pure circumvention of the laws and greed. This is how the Minister of Petroleum is able to pay for her house. People should ask how much money did she have before becoming Minister of Petroleum and also with her current salary as Minister how can she afford this house in Vienna!!! Nigerians should raise their voices against all this corrupt practices or the country will never stand strong.

I hope this could be of help to you all who want fair play and justice in Nigeria; also Dele Adesina & Co. Should show receipts of payments made to it by Malabu and even their contract with Malabu, if they can’t  that is because the fees in the contract between both parties are so high that it does not confirm with any sort of legal fees comparable with any legal work or law firm in Nigeria or abroad,  Who pays a law firm over $30 million USD to negotiate a settlement in a case like this?

In addition to the above; it has come to our attention that the great lawyer Mr. Adesina has started a media black out of this story and similar stories on this topic brought forth by us, by trying to bribe news companies in and around the country. Shell and Agip are also complicit in the bribery of officials in Nigeria through their greed to take as much of the oil rights and licenses as possible.

SOURCE ARTICLE

Shell Nigeria oil sales run to a hitch

Posted Saturday, September 24th, 2011

Shell’s Nigerian oil block sales are heading for a messy conclusion due to a tussle over who operates the fields, sources close to the deals said, highlighting the complex nature of doing business in Africa’s largest energy industry.

Shell, according to Reuters, along with foreign oil major partners, Total and Eni, have agreed to sell their share in four onshore oil blocks which Shell operates in the Niger Delta wetlands but they need ministerial approval.

Deals for the blocks, one of which attracted a bid of over $1 billion, have already been agreed and a 10 per cent deposit paid. These payments triggered a 180-day window for the deals to be completed, the first of which expires at the end of this month, according to sources involved.

The Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which owns the majority stake in the blocks, is at loggerheads with the buyers because it says its subsidiary will take over from Shell as operator of the fields once the deals are completed.

But some buyers of the blocks are not willing to complete the deals if NNPC is the operator.

A consortium led by Poland’s Kulczk Oil Ventures agreed a deal for Shell’s block OML 42, while independent energy firm Eland Oil, in partnership with Nigeria’s Starcrest, has agreed to buy OML 40. Niger Delta E&P and Petrolin won OML 34 and Conoil, owned by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenugu, picked up the biggest block OML 30.

Financial backers will not want to lose their initial funding, in one case topping $100 million, while NNPC and Shell will want deals to go through to realise financial returns, so a compromise should be found.

The likely scenario is that NNPC becomes the “operator” of the blocks and then farms out the development of the fields to another firm. This could be the buyer of Shell’s share or another contractor and potentially a host of other companies in between, sources close to the deals told Reuters.
-Nation

SOURCE ARTICLE

Shell, Malabu $1.3 billion oil deal questions FG indigenisation plan

Thursday, 01 September 2011 00:00 Phillip Isakpa

An oil block deal between Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Malabu Oil & Gas, is currently raising questions about the affirmative action plan of the Federal Government to create active participation of local Nigerian businesses in the country’s lucrative oil and gas industry.

The deal involves the complete transfer of ownership of the long standing but highly contentious Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245, which documents seen by Business Day, suggest could be Nigeria ’s biggest oil block, as it is believed to be holding an estimated 9.23 billion barrels of crude oil, to Royal Dutch Shell (an international oil company).

Oil Prospecting License (OPL) 245, located in Nigeria ’s offshore, went into operation in 2000, but immediately became a battleground for both Malabu and Shell when Shell, in 2002, got the government of Olusegun Obasanjo to evict Malabu from the acreage and remained its operator for four years.

Malabu was founded around 1997/98 by then Petroleum Minister, Dan Etete,(1995-1998) and had secured the concession in 1998, following which Shell became a minority partner. The concession was made to Malabu under a programme designed to get indigenous businesses and people involved in the lucrative Nigerian oil industry.

After lengthy counter litigations and arbitrations, as well as political scheming, Shell (with Agip as its partner) is believed to have offered Malabu $1.3 billion for the entire OPL 245, in early July, an offer, which Dan Etete and his Malabu appear to have accepted.

Business Day learnt that Shell and Malabu signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) and that the agreement is now with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), an agency of the Petroleum Resources Ministry, headed by Diezani Alison-Madueke, who has publicly declared her support for stronger indigenous participation in the oil and gas industry.

Industry sources say Dan Etete now appears to have been exhausted by the lengthy controversy over OPL245 and may now be interested in cutting his losses and running. At $1.3 billion, analysts say that is a handsome amount, considering what had been paid originally for the license.

But the greater concern, Business Day has learnt, is the threat that an approval of the transfer of such a lucrative license, secured under an indigenisation programme, to an international oil company, poses to the essence of the programme. Many say they know Dan Etete to be a friend of President Goodluck Jonathan, and that he may be counting on this relationship to get the needed approvals, a move many are watching to see if it will happen.

In the mid-to late 1990s, government had moved to encourage indigenous participation in the oil industry, dominated by international oil companies (IOCs). This policy saw the entrance of firms owned by Nigerian billionaires such as the late MKO Abiola, Mike Adenuga Jr., among others,with a number of unexploited marginal oil fields concessions being handed to them.

Malabu got its license under this indigenization programme and its production sharing contract stipulated that 40 percent of its acreage has to be owned by a Nigerian company. OPL 245 was awarded under the indigenisation programme.

Oil industry analysts, however, say the Shell-Malabu deal will not come easy, if at all. For instance, to transfer the block will mean drafting a new contract. One analyst even said: “Under the arrangement that we have seen, NNPC [Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation] is not going to be involved in the operations of potentially Nigeria ’s biggest oil field.”

The deal also goes counter to Diezani Alison-Madueke’s call for the nationalisation of Nigeria ’s oil resources. Besides, should the National Assembly put on its patriotic hat, it might see this deal as trading off a lucrative Nigerian asset and seek to intervene.

Shell’s former Africa vice president for exploration and production at the time, Ann Pickard,  had vigorously pursued government in arbitration in 2007, seeking $500 million in damages and interest at the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (a wing of the World Bank). Now, it appears, Pickard’s successor, Ian Craig, has changed strategy in dealing with the government, especially with the knowledge that Dan Etete is friend to President Jonathan.

While Shell operated the bloc, it had drilled two wells in 2005, Etam 1 and 2.  It identified about 1,08 billion barrels of probable reserves and Shell has always maintained that the bloc has between one and three billion barrels in probable reserves. But a detailed 2007 study carried out by Ikon Sciences, a geophysical consultancy, shows the total probable reserves to be around 9.23 billion barrels.

SOURCE ARTICLE

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