There are indications that the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria would witness degree of economic and administrative struggle as Eland Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited are at loggerheads with the Nigerian Regulator and operator of the Opuama Field at OML 17 on regulatory matters concerning crude export
from the asset.
According to a statement signed by the, ”Oil For Nigerian”, a Non-Governmental Organization, Mr Solomon Wendy, and made available to DAILY POST on Monday, indicating that stakeholders remain perturbed with the worrying trend since it would be the second time in less than a year that companies associated with the UK stock exchange will embrace unconventional route to blackmail the Buhari-led Government over the insistence of the regulators in following laid-down procedures and regulations.
The statement read that the operator of the field, the operating arm of the NNPC is carefully studying the matter and may decide to enforce their operatorship of the field which is currently being managed by both companies.
Solomon Wendy claimed that the DPR source quipped that ”Eland Oil and Gas needs to know that the era of the erstwhile MD, Yusuf Matashi has gone and that the new hands at the helms of affairs will not allow any foreign company to push him around.
He added that the Minister of Petroleum, President Buhari is also a no-nonsense man and will frown at the Dublin-based company’s effort to smear his incorruptible personae.
The spokesperson stressed that E and P legal and professionals conversant with the unfolding story believe that there has to be more than meet the eyes in the disharmony since the issue at hand between Eland and the DPR is mainly procedural and should not have led to consideration of legal action as perceived.
Mr Wendy alleged that there is the possibility of Eland to have pledged some reserves that belong to NPDC in its attempt to secure the $50million dollars facility with Standard Bank of South Africa.
Wendy stressed that any accordion facility is essentially an incremental facility which allows a borrower to take an additional facility over and above what was originally agree on with the financier on the same terms as the original facility for expansion purposes.
The spokesperson emphasized that there had been indications that the financial adviser had realized that the expectation to commence principal repayment on its existing 5-year reserve -based landing facility which was said to have occurred in 2018.
Mr Wendy claimed that inside sources expressed fears that the company may be cash-strapped since the November 2018 loan has not been deployed, mainly owing to the many rig mechanical failures with the Gbetiokun Drilling campaign, the below poor production from its new wells and the increasing water having challenges from the field.
”The company has been using the loans to continuously bye back its shares to shore up the shareholders’ values at the expense of NPDC and the Government”, as explained by Wendy.
Other worries, according to Mr Wendy is the perceived behaviors of the Les Blair-led company makes the stakeholders believe that the company may be facing an existential crisis due to Standard Bank’s insistence that Eland oil and Gas meets all conditions precedent to the draw-down of the loan.
The Spokesman alleged that the development must be responsible for the desperation of the company to claim operators’ reserves with its own increase assets to the facilities.
Mr Wendy added that the position of the NGO, ”Oil For the future” to thread carefully since Emeka Offor requires cordial relationship in the corridors of power to ensure that it does not jeopardize its interest in other fields and future licensing rounds.
