BEVERLY HILLS, April 23, (THEWILL) – President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the restoration of the ownership of four petroleum prospecting licences to the Nigeria National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its Chinese partner, Addax Petroleum.
A statement on Friday said the licences, revoked in March 2021, were revived in the spirit of the government’s commitment to encouraging investments and honouring contractual obligations.
According to Garba Shehu, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, the leases belonging to the Federation were revoked on March 30, 2021.
The statement reads as follows: “In line with the current administration’s commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment, President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restoration of the leases on OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which is in production sharing contract with Addax Petroleum, a company wholly owned by Government of the People’s Republic of China on the blocks.
“This development reaffirms the commitment of President Buhari to the rule of law and sanctity of contracts.
“While directing the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, to retract the letter of revocation of the leases, the President also directed NNPC to utilise contractual provisions to resolve issues in line with the extant provisions of the Production Sharing Contract arrangement between NNPC and Addax.
“The restoration of the blocks to NNPC will boost the organisation’s portfolio, thereby making the corporation to, in the long run, boost its crude oil production and in turn increase the revenue it generates to the Federation Account.”
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