The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been mandated to restore the Atala Marginal Oil field ( OML 46) to its former owners.
Legit.ng gathered that the Oil field, which was originally owned by the trio of Bayelsa Oil Company Limited (BOCL), Hardy Oil Nigeria Limited (HONL) and Century Exploration and Production Limited, was erroneously reallocated to Halkin Exploration and Production Company Limited (Halkin E&P).
This was done through a letter dated July 7, 2021, by the then regulatory agency, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), over the alleged inability to bring the Atala Field to production. Calling for the restoration of the field, the Senate committee on ethics, privileges and public petitions has mandated that the Atala Oil field should be reallocated to Halkin
The committee which met on Thursday, October 6, was also disappointed over the non-appearance of both NUPRC and the beneficiary, Halkin Oil at the hearing. It was only Barrister Ike Onwuchuluba who made an appearance on behalf of the petitioner, Hardy Oil Nigeria Limited.
The parties were earlier mandated by the committee to produce written evidence showing that President Muhammadu Buhari approved the reallocation of the field.
Expressing the Senate’s disappointment, Ayo Akinyelure, the senator who represents Ondo Central federal constituency condemned the total disregard for an order made by the president stating that the Atala Oil field be reallocated to the original owners.
His words: “We have invited them severally and again, but they have not been able to come before Nigerians and prove that the allocation of Atala Oil to Halkin is justified before the law and before humans.
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