A move to undercut the local content laws of the country and at the same time cost the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited an extra $107,500 daily in hiring an operational rig for OML 130 jointly operated by NNPC and TotalEnergies has been uncovered.
A petition by the South-South Reawakeing Group alleged that the NNPC and TotalEnergies are plotting to violate the standard procurement process involved in hiring a rig for OML 130 in the next drilling campaign.
OML 130 is located in the deepwaters of the Niger Delta adjacent to the Nigeria Sao-Tome Joint Development Zone. The block contains the onstream Akpo gas-condensate field, Egina, which is under development by TotalEnergies.
It was gathered that though a local oil company, PALMERON Nigeria Ltd participated and won the open competitive tender for OML 130 drilling campaign in December 2021, the company was awarded a letter of intent with a commitment from TotalEnergies for it to procure the rig and bring it into Nigeria.
PALMERON, according to findings, came up with a plan to own the first Nigeria Drillship via a bareboat charter agreement with an obligation to purchase the rig with an arrangement for the rig to carry the Nigerian flag and also along the way build local capacity and possibly venture into the international market.
Following the successful bid and a little bureaucracy, PALMERON wrote several times to TotalEnergies about other interested parties willing to employ the drill ship and needed to know if TotalEnergies was still interested in the Drillship and each time, TotalEnergies reconfirmed their interest and requested that PALMERON continue to make the rig available for their drilling campaign.
PALMERON and their partner, according to information, spent around $1.5 million every month to keep the rig for TotalEnergies since December 2021 following the letter of Intent.
South-South Reawakening Group, SSRG in a statement condemning what it claimed as an attempt by a high level official of the NNPC to undermine the process in a statement issued by its coordinator, Comrade Joseph Ambakaderimo said:
“Shockingly, in August 2022, TotalEnergies sent a request to award the contract to a consortium comprising TIREX, a company which did not participate in the tender process. This action prompted PALMERON to make a formal complaint to the GCEO of NNPC. PALMERON expressed disappointment and shock about the inappropriateness of how an illegal evaluation was carried out by NAPIMS and TotalEnergies to disadvantage the winner of the Tender.
“It is shocking to know that TotalEnergies and NAPIMS in August were considering awarding the contract to the consortium of TIREX, Derotech and Noble Drilling at a daily rate of $430,000 as compared to PALMERON lower rate of $322, 500.
“It is unacceptable that the tender process has been frustrated and delayed to accommodate the interest of TIREX/Noble Drilling and Derotech. This action raises some questions why respectable organisations will accommodate such improprieties intentionally planned by some individuals to frustrate the award of the contract to PALMERON by ignoring due process which is undistinguishable to criminality, fraud or abuse of due process and deliberately deceiving others to secure unfair and unlawful gain in favour of another contractor and to avoid fulfilling a legal obligation to award the contract to PALMERON
“The Letter of Intent (LOI) issued to TIREX consortium is a questionable behaviour, which was not committed in error but rather intentional as it involves a lot of secretive and non-authorised actions of which PALMERON is a victim. (This action is against NNPC and TotalEnergies anti-corruption and anti-bribery policies).”
The petition went on to detail how NAPIMS, through a senior official, went on to forge documents to project the TIREX consortium which was not a participant in the December 2021 competitive tender and at the same time push out PALMERON.
