The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has said that it was never opposed to the sale of the shares of Agip Oil Company to Oando Plc.
In a statement signed by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of the company, Garba Deen Muhammad said the letter to Agip Oil did not indicate it was opposed to the deal.
In a letter to the Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd, dated September 4, and signed by Managing Director of NNPC E&P Limited, Ali Muhammed Zarah, NNPCL said if the deal goes through, it would have far-reaching contractual/legal implications in relation to the joint Operating Agreement dated July 1991 governing the operations of the NAOC/NEPL/OOL Joint venture.
NNPCL said in the letter that its consent as a member of the joint venture member operating ENI’s onshore asset, was not obtained before the planned divestment to Oando. This it said was against contract rules governing the joint venture operation, and could affect the deal.
The statement reads, “It has come to our notice that a routine communication in the form of a letter written by NNPC E&P Limited (NEPL) to its JV Partner, Nigerian Agip Oil Company Limited (NAOC) is being interpreted to suggest that NNPC Ltd. is opposed to the sale of NAOC shares to Oando PLC. This is not correct.
“NNPC Ltd. wishes to state that the letter was sent by NEPL, an NNPC Ltd. subsidiary. However, nowhere was opposition or objection to the transaction mentioned in the letter.
“NEPL is only drawing attention to certain important clauses in the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) between it, NAOC and OOL; which might have been overlooked in error. Adherence to those clauses will protect the transaction, now and in the future.”
Oil major Eni had in a press release saying that it had signed an agreement with Oando, an energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, for the sale of all its stake in Nigerian Agip Oil Company Ltd (NAOC Ltd), a wholly-owned subsidiary focusing on onshore oil & gas exploration and production in Nigeria, as well as power generation.
