A
top NNPC staff who appeared before the House of Representatives has
left them in shock after he said the agency does not know the number of
oil blocks in Nigeria.
The House of Representatives
The Chief Operating Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation shocked members of the House of Representatives committee
investigating the controversial Malabu oil deal and OPL 245 on Tuesday
afternoon when he said that the NNPC does not know the number of oil
blocks Nigeria.
Bello Rabiu further said that the NNPC was not directly involved in
the controversial deal, Mr. Rabiu was asked to give details of
Nigeria’s oil fields. Razak Atunwa, the chairman of the committee, said
he posed the question because he believed it would help lawmakers to
determine Nigeria’s oil revenue prospects amidst the lingering financial
crisis.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Mr. Rabiu said.
In a report by Premium Times, Mr. Rabiu said statistics about oil
prospecting licences and oil mining licences were not kept with the
NNPC, but the Department of Petroleum Resources and directed lawmakers
to contact the department for the information.
Mr. Rabiu also told the committee that the NNPC Act gave the
Minister of Petroleum the absolute power to exercise discretion on award
of oil licences. “The NNPC Act, even till today, clearly stated that the minister can award oil exploration licences at his discretion,” Mr. Rabiu said.
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