NEWS

NNPC contracts ‘juicy’ crude lifting deals to Oando, Sahara | Photos

Published

6 years ago

May 16, 2018

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has handed crude term lifting contracts for a two-year period to an unprecedented number of 50 companies, TOPNAIJA.NG can confirm.

Half of the beneficiaries are Nigerian companies, with suggestions that the administration is having an eye on the 2019 general election.

Included in the jealously guided list of beneficiaries are Wale Tinubu’s Oando, Sayyu Dantata’s MRS, Tonye Cole’s Sahara Energy, Obateru Akinruntan’s, Obat Petroleum owned and Ladi Bada’s Shoreline

The NNPC had in January conducted an open tender exercise for the 254 bids it received for the lifting of over one million barrels per day (bpd) of Nigeria’s crude, but refused to make public the list of beneficiaries — three months after it was billed to be announced.

Reuters has, however, revealed that the list was delayed by the federal government as it pondered over how it would use the juicy contracts to bolster its electoral fortunes in the 2019 elections.

To back up the assertion, the period of the crude lifting contract will now cover two years as against the usual one year period, thus ensuring the contracts extend beyond the 2019 elections.

“The government may have delayed an announcement this time by several months as it sought to line up more local firms for awards, so it could drum up support for next year’s election,” Reuters reported quoting sources.

NNPC spokesman Ndu Ughamadu, declined comments when contacted by TheCable Petrobarometer to confirm release of the list.

Several officials of the corporation also refused to comment on the matter.

This year’s overall total of 50 foreign and local firms was more than the 39 listed in 2017.

The list last year also included three bilateral government deals.

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