Energy
Ex-Minister says $10m bribe for malabu Oil scam justified
By: Ikenna Oluka
Of the 50 million agreed with the former minister and owner of Malabu, Dan Etete, as alleged “compensation” for his work as a legal adviser in the sale of Opl 245, “I received only part”, 10 million, “and I hope to be able to regain possession of others. I’m not going to sue.” This was said by the former Nigerian Minister of Justice Bayo Ojo in a passage of his examination made in Milan at the trial with at the center, an alleged bribe of 1 billion and 92 million dollars paid by Eni for the acquisition of the Opl-245 oil field in the African country and which sees among the defendants the CEO of the ‘Dog six-legg ed’ Claudio Descalzi, his predecessor Paolo Scaroni, their accuser and former manager of the Sahara area Vincenzo Armanna and also the same company and Shell.
For the former Minister of Nigeria, that 50 million dollars, which according to the investigation documents is a tranche of the maxi bribe, of which a part was also paid to him, was nothing more than – as it was written in an agreement – 5 percent of the 92 million paid by the Italian oil company.
A version made by the former minister, heard by videoconference, which does not match that recorded by the former number one of the ‘six-legged dog’ for the Sahara area in April 2016, as he had claimed in front of investigators and investigators that the money “recovered by Bayo Ojo has never been returned because not only in Italy at that time the price of gold was very high” and “the margin would have been extremely modest”, but also for its “economic difficulties. Bayo Ojo – continues the report – actually wanted to have this money back but I involved him in some business and I found him some customers in Nigeria and then, in the end, he was satisfied. The former manager of the oil group would have ‘coordinated’ with Gianfranco Falcioni, former Italian consul in Nigeria, and Ojo the transfer of the alleged maxi bribe paid by Eni to the account of the Nigerian government at Jp Morgan Chase in London and subsequently received from the former minister the sum of 917,952 euros with causal “Armanna inheritance” and that for the Prosecutor’s Office would be a share of the alleged bribes for the operation.
In his reconstruction Ojo did not deny that he had collected $10 million, according to him, part of the compensation for his “legal advice” which should actually have been $50 million, a figure equal to 5 percent of the amount paid to Malabu and Dan Etete (the former minister of oil among the defendants) for the acquisition of the field.
The former manager of Eni VincenzoArmanna would still be in business with the former Nigerian Minister of Justice Bayo Ojo, who for a “business” in the gold sector has paid the manager 1.2 million dollars. This was explained by Ojo himself today in the courtroom at the trial with at its center an alleged international corruption of 1 billion and 92 million dollars for the acquisition of the oil field Opl-245 in the African country and which sees among the defendants the same Armanna, the CEO of the ‘six-legged dog’ Claudio Descalzi, the former number one Paolo Scaroni and also Eni and Shell. During his examination Ojo said that he still has “communications” with Armanna because “we are interested in opening up this business” which aims to expand to the renewable energy sector and oil. Activities of which “there is nothing in writing”, and for which they were last heard “last year”. The former Nigerian minister continued: “The money has not been asked back because we still want to work together”.
Bayo Ojo, who in the indictment is referred to as one of the recipients of the bribes, pressed by the questions of the prosecutor Sergio Spadaro about the work he had done since 2009 – after he had left the public office during which he had taken part in the proceedings to reassign Malabu to former minister Dan Etete – explained that his task would be to seek “one or more buyers of the Block but I was not lucky enough to find them”. He didn’t talk about the details of his assignment, however, claiming professional secrecy, but he specified that during his work he didn’t know about the lawsuit initiated by Shell nor that the Dutch and Italian oil companies “could be buyers” of Opl 245.
The former Attorney General then said that the 10 million were transferred from Rocky Top Resources “to his personal account because his firm did not have a foreign account”. Of these, then, a million and 200 thousand would be paid in 2012 to Armanna to start an activity in the gold sector.
Before receiving this amount, he reconstructed, of those 50 million, 5 should have been allocated, as a reward for the ‘service’, to the former deputy consul Gianfranco Falcioni who with his Petrol Service would have to open a guarantee account on which to pass the billion and 92 million, while the rest would go to his private and personal accounts to the extent of 20 and 25 million. “The payment has never been made”, as the agreement was revoked” in the summer of 2011 due to the refusal of the Banca della Svizzera Italiana to credit the maxi amount sent by the London-based Jp Morgan Chase Bank. Figured it would eventually be deposited in Nigerian accounts.
Abubakar Aliyu’s exam, scheduled for today, has been missed because, as he himself stated, he only discovered this morning that he is being investigated in a case (CONGO) which is an excerpt of what the Milanese trial is underway for, and therefore that he does not know the accusations made against him and that he cannot assess whether or not to answer. He recovers on February 13th.
Highlights of the hearing of Adebayo Ojo
*He agreed with Malabu/Etete on a $50 million fee for legal advice provided between 2009 and 2011 for which he should have contributed to legal advice on behalf of Etete and found buyers for OPL245. He says that he did not find it and that he knew that both Eni and Shell could have been possible purchasers of OPL245 only after reading the agreement itself (but shouldn’t he have been one of those who knew about the contents of the agreement?). One wonders what Ojo has done to deserve those 50 million (of which to date he claims to have received only 10) received in his personal accounts from Rocky Top Resources. He considers them part of his fee, the investigators part of his cue.
*Ojo had reached an agreement with Etete to receive 5% of the deal amount ($50 million) in exchange for his legal services. Ojo did not provide details of its business, but merely stated that it had looked for potential buyers but had not found them. Faced with the PM’s requests for clarification, the former minister opposed professional secrecy and did not reveal any further details.
*The original agreement provided that the transaction would be managed by the Falcioni petrol service, which would guarantee the success of the transaction by collecting Euro 5 million. The remaining 45 were to be paid in two tranches to the account of the law firm in Ojo and to another personal account. The agreement was faded after the stop imposed by the BSI bank of Lugano on the transfer made by Eni through JP Morgan of London.
*He says that he is aware of Dan Etete’s interests in Malabu and that he does not see any conflicts of interest in his conduct, on the one hand former oil minister and on the other hand person with interests in Malabu.
*He says that on the reassignment of Opl 245 has received pressure to proceed with the reassignment of the Opl245 block to Malabu because with the stalemate of lawsuits and arbitrations were losing money. With the reallocation, the immediate benefit to the Nigerian government was the $200 million “signature bonus”. Finally, he says that the choice of reassignment to Malabu was discussed at the General Assembly.
Energy
NNPC, Dangote Strengthen Strategic Partnership
Bot partners reaffirmed commitment to Healthy Competition Towards National Prosperity, reports SANDRA ANI
As part of ongoing efforts to promote mutually beneficial partnerships and foster healthy competition, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and Dangote Petroleum Refinery & Petrochemicals (DPRP) have pledged to deepen collaboration aimed at ensuring Nigeria’s energy security and advancing shared prosperity for Nigerians.
This commitment was made during a courtesy visit by the President/Chief Executive of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, and his delegation to the Group CEO of NNPC Ltd., Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, and members of the company’s Senior Management Team at the NNPC Towers, on Thursday.
During the visit, Dangote pledged to collaborate with the new NNPC Management to ensure energy security for Nigeria.
“There is no competition between us, we are not here to compete with NNPC Ltd. NNPC is part and parcel of our business and we are also part of NNPC. This is an era of co-operation between the two organizations.” Dangote added.
While congratulating the GCEO and the Senior Management Team on their “well-deserved appointments,” Dangote acknowledged the enormity of the responsibility ahead, noting that the GCEO is shouldering a monumental task, which he expressed confidence that, with the capable hands at his disposal in NNPC, the task is surmountable.
In his remarks, the GCEO, Mr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari assured Dangote of a mutually beneficial partnership anchored on healthy competition and productive collaboration.
Ojulari highlighted the exceptional caliber of talent he met in NNPC Ltd., describing the workforce as a dedicated, highly skilled and hardworking professionals who are consistently keen on delivering value for Nigeria.
Expressing the company’s readiness to build a legacy of national prosperity through innovation and shared purpose, Ojulari said NNPC will sustain its collaboration with the Dangote Group especially where there is commercial advantage for Nigeria.
Both executives also committed to being the relationship managers for their respective organisations through sustained productive collaboration and healthy competition, thereby envisioning limitless opportunities for both organizations.
Energy
AVEVA is providing data management support for renewable natural gas projects
Reporter: Godwin Ezeh
Key Highlights
● AVEVA’s industrial information infrastructure has been selected by Archaea Energy to provide key data management support
● AVEVA’s industrial software to optimize performance across Archaea’s RNG plants
AVEVA, a global leader in industrial software driving digital transformation and sustainability, has been selected by Archaea Energy, the largest renewable natural gas (RNG) producer in the US, to build a comprehensive operations data management infrastructure.
Using AVEVA’s software, Archaea Energy can collect, enrich and visualize its real-time operations data, enabling performance analysis across its growing network of plants.
Using AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, a hybrid solution with cloud data services, the plants will be able to share data to highlight operational opportunities and optimize efficiency.
Caspar Herzberg, CEO, AVEVA, stated,
“Through this collaboration and the use of AVEVA PI Data Infrastructure, Archaea’s growing network of plants will have streamlined operations with accurate performance analysis throughout the expansion. AVEVA’s CONNECT software platform leverages industrial intelligence from a central location, making it easier to deploy additional digital solutions in the future.”
“As the largest RNG producer in the United States, we are dedicated to delivering reliable, clean energy,” said Starlee Sykes, chief executive officer of Archaea Energy. “This relationship will allow us to optimize operations and offer detailed performance analysis as we continue to expand across the country.”
…OML 13 Asset Eyes 80,000 bpd by End of 2025
In a major boost for Nigeria’s crude oil production, revenue generation and economic growth efforts, the NNPC Ltd has officially unveiled its latest crude oil grade, the Utapate crude oil blend, before the international crude oil market.
It would be recalled that in July, 2024, NNPC Ltd and its partner, the Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy Production Company (SEEPCO) Ltd introduced the Utapate crude oil blend, following the lifting of first cargo of 950,000 barrels which headed for Spain.
During a ceremony held at the Argus European Crude Conference taking place in London, United Kingdom, on Wednesday, the Managing Director, NNPC E & P Limited (NEPL), Mr. Nicholas Foucart described the introduction of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market as a significant milestone for Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global energy market.
“Since we started producing the Utapate Field in May 2024, we have rapidly ramped up production to 40,000 barrels per day (bpd) with minimum downtime. So far, we have exported five cargoes, largely to Spain and the East Coast of the United States; while two more additional cargoes have been secured for November and December 2024, representing a significant boost to Nigeria’s crude oil export to the global market,” Foucart told a packed audience of European crude oil marketers.
He added that since its introduction into the global market, the Utapate crude oil blend has enjoyed a positive response from the international crude oil market, due to its highly attractive qualities.
Foucart said the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 13, fully operated by NEPL and Natural Oilfield Services Ltd (NOSL), a subsidiary of SEEPCO Ltd, boasts a huge reserves of 330million barrels of crude oil reserves, 45 million barrels of condensate and 3.5 tcf of gas.
“We have a number of ongoing projects to increase our production from the current 40,000bopd to 50,000bopd by January 2025 and 60,000bopd to 65,000bopd by June 2025. Essentially, we are targeting opportunities to increase production to 80,000bopd by the end of 2025,” Foucart added.
He said the Utapate crude oil terminal is sustainable, affordable and fully compliant with the rigorous environmental regulations and sustainability principles especially those aimed at reducing carbon emissions and other ecological effects.
Also speaking, the Managing Director of NNPC Trading Ltd (NTL), Mr. Lawal Sade said the pricing structure of the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to that of Amenam crude as it is a light sweet crude which is highly sought after by refiners across the world due to its low sulphur content, efficient yield of high-value products, API gravity and other similarities.
He said in bringing the new crude oil blend to the global market, NNPC Ltd wanted to optimise value for both its producers and counterparties across the globe.
He added to ensure predictability and sustainability of supply, the NNPC Trading intends to run a term contract on the Utapate crude oil blend cargoes, principally targeting off-takers from the European and the US East Coast refineries.
Produced from the Utapate field in OML 13 in Akwa Ibom State in Nigeria, the Utapate crude oil blend is similar to the Nembe crude oil grade. It has a low sulphur content of 0.0655% and low carbon footprint due to flare gas elimination, fitting perfectly into the required specification of major buyers in Europe.
The NNPC E&P Ltd and NOSL partnership is also committed to operating in a manner that is safe, environmentally responsible, and beneficial to the local communities.
The Utapate field development plan, executed between 2013-2019 and approved in October, included converting wells and facilities from swamp/marine to land-based operations.
The plan involved a multi-rig drilling campaign for 40 wells and the development of significant infrastructure such as production facilities, storage tank, a subsea pipeline and an offshore loading platform to facilitate crude oil evacuation and loading.
The entry of the Utapate crude oil blend into the market is coming barely a year after the NNPC Ltd announced the launch of Nembe crude oil, produced by the NNPC/Aiteo operated Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 Joint Venture (JV).
This remarkable achievement signals the commitment of the NNPC Ltd to increasing Nigeria’s crude oil production and growing its reserves through the development of new assets.
Nnaemeka Ani Admonishes African Techies to Build for Legacy
Book Review of The Village Priest by Remmy Nweke @NDSF 2025
Tinubu The Audacity To Hope – Two Years After
LASG Acquires New Outboard Engines For Optimum Boat Performance
Elon Musk builds Hotel in Mars, Sets to launch soon at $5million per night – Photos
