OML 130: Group Flays Totalenergies/NNPC Over Breach Of Local Content, Cost Escalation

The Community Development Committees of Niger Delta Oil and Gas Producing Areas, CDC has strongly condemned alleged moves by Totalenergies, operators of Nigeria’s OML 130 in collaboration with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, NNPC Limited to undermine the country’s local content laws for the financial benefit of a few individuals

The group in a statement issued on Wednesday particularly expressed outrage that Totalenergies in collaboration with NNPC could escalate the cost of hiring a rig for OML 130 by as much as $107,500 daily to satisfy their local and foreign interests. The group said that it was such corruption that made it that the same Totalenergies would produce a barrel of oil in Nigeria at $40 and the same barrel for $20 in Angola where it also operates.

The statement came in the wake of revelations that the leadership of the NNPC and Totalenergies were about aborting the contract earlier awarded to a local contractor, Palmeron in favour of a foreign entity.

CDC in the statement issued by Corporate Affairs Manager Kingsley Arthur, lamented that the action by Totalenergies/NNPC in OML 130 showed why the production cost of oil in Nigeria had continued to escalate in comparison to other nations.

“There are several issues to be learnt from the ongoing move by Totalenergies/NNPC in the matter of the rig for OML 130 that border on economic sabotage. We are shocked that after a contract had been won through due process by a local contractor that Totalenergies/NNPC would want to award the oil rig contract to another entity that did not bid for it not minding that it would be at a higher cost.

“This vexatious move by Totalenergies/NNPC to inflate the cost of the rig for OML 130 is exactly the reason why the unit cost of producing a barrel of oil in Nigeria is almost $40 compared to the $20 the same Totalenergies expends in Angola.

“Besides this economic cost on Nigeria, we also observe that the move by Totalenergies/NNPC is a deliberate violation of the nation’s local content law.”

We call on the authorities and particularly the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to examine this provocative act by Totalenergies/NNPC to weaken the move by Nigerian businesses to advance the country’s capacity in the oil and gas industry.

“We want to put the authorities at Totalenergies and NNPC on notice that Nigerians are watching and would not sit back and see a few of their compatriots collaborate with foreign interests to undermine our collective wellbeing of the people.”

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