BEVERLY HILLS, June 25, (THEWILL) – The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has commenced investigation over a suspicious 2009 bid of $1.5bn for a 20-year lease on the Oso, Ekpe, Edop and Ubit oil fields by ExxonMobil.
According to documents obtained by the Guardian, Exxon, the world’s largest oil company, secured the lucrative oil rights in 2009 by beating out China’s fourth-largest oil producer for access, despite apparently underbidding its rival bid by $2.25bn.
Local Exxon rival Sunrise Power & Transmission, at the time a consortium of Nigerian and Chinese interests that included the Chinese National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), bid $3.75bn for the same rights, according to a letter from Sunrise to the Nigerian president.
The deal was reported to the Nigerian authorities by Lanre Suraju, a Nigerian anti-corruption activist and chairman of the Civil Society Network Against Corruption, who said he got documents related to the deal by a ‘concerned citizen’ after his June 2015 petition to investigate the bid was made public.
The Guardian reports that an internal memo signed by executives of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) shows that Exxon’s local subsidiary, Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN), originally tried to acquire a 25-year license to receive billions of dollars of oil for just $75m, saying they had expected the price for the lease renewal to be ‘millions not billions.’
“Mobil Producing Nigeria takes strong exception to these allegations,” Lauren Kerr, the operations media relations manager for ExxonMobil, told the Guardian.
“Mobil Producing Nigeria fully complied with the requirements outlined by Nigerian law for the renewal of oil mining licenses 67, 68 and 70. Nigerian law, as prescribed under the Petroleum Act, outlines the processes and procedures for an oil mining license renewal in the country. Within this framework an agreement between the Nigerian government and MPN was reached and legally executed.
“We have noted the same to Global Witness.
“The company adheres to the highest standards of business conduct, and to imply so without evidence is grossly irresponsible.”
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