An Appeal Court judgment on Monday has given the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company legitimacy to resume operation in the Oil Mining Licence 11 (OML 11).
The ruling ends 30 years of stoppage of operation on the Ogoni region of the block and provides an opportunity for Nigeria to make meaningful gains from OML 11 when the nation needs all the revenue it can get to move the country forward.
The Appeal Court ruling upturned the August 23, 2019 ruling of the Federal High Court, Abuja which held that the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was entitled to the renewal of the Lease on OML 11.
In his reaction, the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyaei hailed the judgment, describing it as a huge victory for Nigeria and the beginning of addressing decades of host community restiveness.
The Appellate Court held that the Minister of Petroleum Resources has the discretion whether or not to renew the OML 11 Lease in favor of SPDC. It further held that the Minister rightly exercised his discretion in awarding the OML 11 Lease to NPDC, a subsidiary of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
A statement by the Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Garba Deen Muhammad, quoted Kyari, as saying that the ruling has paved the way for the NPDC to lead a formidable OML 11 team towards bolstering productivity in a responsible, efficient, environmentally friendly, and sustainable manner.
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Accordingly, the resumption of operations on OML 11 will demonstrate the NPDC’s full commitment to develop and add value to its communities and the nation as a whole.
Kari said, “We now have an opportunity to reconstruct a new beginning on OML 11, driven by global best practices and a social contract that would put the people and environment of the Niger Delta above pecuniary considerations.
“This is a huge victory for the government and people of Nigeria as we now have the impetus to responsibly unlock the oil and gas reserves the block offers for the benefit of all Nigerians.”
According to the NNPC, the NPDC has taken over the assets and operations are in full gear, adding that the company is working closely with all stakeholders and partners to achieve the new vision of “responsible, smart engineering and environmental sustainability,” that the Federal Government has endorsed for OML 11.
Kari stated that the NPDC will pursue the promotion of clean energy via its gas production with prospects of gas-to-power initiatives to “light up opportunities in the region,” and provide the much-deserved industrialization.
He noted that the environment will be a top priority for NPDC’s operations, as well as the implementation of a robust host community engagement strategy to address subsisting issues while agreeing to a transparent engagement model going forward.
The NNPC cautioned against any further legal challenge by the SPDC, stressing that it was about time Nigeria derived the benefit of the OML11 after over three decades.
“It is time to roll back the decades of despair and destruction with the emphatic Appeal Court ruling. It is time to unlock opportunities for economic development in the region.
“In the light of their inability to work on the Ogoni region of the block for over 30 years and the new beginning this judgment presents, further legal action by Shell will not only be futile, but it would also be depriving Nigeria of an opportunity to make meaningful gains from OML 11 when the nation needs all the revenue it can get to move Nigeria forward,” the GMD said.
