Nigeria probes award of oil blocks under Obasanjo
By Matthew Green in Lagos
Published: June 18 2008 03:00 | Last updated: June 18 2008 03:00
Nigeria’s government is investigating awards of oil exploration blocks made in the last days of the administration of Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president.
Umaru Yar’Adua, who took over from Mr Obasanjo 12 months ago, has pledged to reverse declining production from Africa’s biggest oil industry with a set of reforms designed to maximise state revenues and introduce greater transparency.
But the government’s decision to audit the 2007 licensing round – held two weeks before Mr Obasanjo stepped down – is likely to shift attention to allegations of impropriety under the past administration.
Western groups that dominate the energy industry in Nigeria – the world’s eighth-biggest oil exporter – largely shunned the auction, leaving it to smaller, little-known companies to purchase only 18 blocks of the 45 on offer.
The sale – which followed earlier licensing rounds in 2005 and 2006 – was perceived in the industry as a last chance for Mr Obasanjo to dispense patronage to big backers before the end of his eight-year tenure. Mr Obasanjo’s supporters say elements in the current administration are intent on discrediting him.
The oil ministry in a statement yesterday said it had asked Tony Chukwueke, director of the Department of Petroleum Resources, the industry regulator, to step down pending an in-depth audit of the round. It said the decision was not taken owing to any finding of im-propriety by Mr Chukwueke.
The investigation highlights the dilemma Mr Yar’Adua faces in balancing his government’s desire to address allegations of mismanagement under its pre-decessor with a need to project an image of consistency at a time of raised uncertainty for Nigeria’s oil industry. Royal Dutch Shell warned last month that the government risked undermining investor confidence after Mr Yar’Adua demanded that Shell and ExxonMobil must pay a total of $1.9bn in unpaid taxes and revenues, following a government committee review of contracts for offshore oilfields signed in 1993.
Nigerian officials play down the concerns, saying they are only trying to ensure the country wins its fair share of revenues, given the surge in oil prices to record highs.
News of the inquiry into last year’s licensing round is also likely to raise speculation over whether the government may revisit more of the energy deals made under Mr Obasanjo.
Nigerian officials are seeking to distance themselves from the kind of agreements Mr Obasanjo pursued with Asian oil companies to swap oil exploration rights for promises of multi-billion-dollar infrastructure investments in pipelines or refineries. None of the pledged projects has so far materialised.
Scrutinising the award of oil blocks could prove a fresh source of embarrassment for Mr Obasanjo, already smarting from public scrutiny of his government.
An investigation by the National Assembly into his management of the power sector caused an outcry after it revealed evidence of fraud.
Lawmakers have also launched a separate investigation into the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the state-owned oil company.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2008
This website and sisters royaldutchshellplc.com, shellnazihistory.com, royaldutchshell.website, johndonovan.website, and shellnews.net, are owned by John Donovan. There is also a Wikipedia segment.
Royal Dutch Shell conspired directly with Hitler, financed the Nazi Party, was anti-Semitic and sold out its own Dutch Jewish employees to the Nazis. Shell had a close relationship with the Nazis during and after the reign of Sir Henri Deterding, an ardent Nazi, and the founder and decades long leader of the Royal Dutch Shell Group. His burial ceremony, which had all the trappings of a state funeral, was held at his private estate in Mecklenburg, Germany. The spectacle (photographs below) included a funeral procession led by a horse drawn funeral hearse with senior Nazis officials and senior Royal Dutch Shell directors in attendance, Nazi salutes at the graveside, swastika banners on display and wreaths and personal tributes from Adolf Hitler and Reichsmarschall, Hermann Goring. Deterding was an honored associate and supporter of Hitler and a personal friend of Goring.
Deterding was the guest of Hitler during a four day summit meeting at Berchtesgaden. Sir Henri and Hitler both had ambitions on Russian oil fields. Only an honored personal guest would be rewarded with a private four day meeting at Hitler’s mountain top retreat.
IN JULY 2007, MR BILL CAMPBELL (ABOVE, A RETIRED GROUP AUDITOR OF SHELL INTERNATIONAL SENT AN EMAIL TO EVERY UK MP AND MEMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS: 
MORE DETAILS:
A head-cut image of Alfred Donovan (now deceased) appears courtesy of The Wall Street Journal.
