Court orders petroleum minister Lokpobiri, others to maintain status quo in oil field dispute

The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered Heineken Lokpobiri, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, along with other respondents in a lawsuit concerning four oil fields, to maintain the current state of affairs until the matter is resolved.

Justice Emeka Nwite gave the directive on Monday after the Ambrose Unaeze, plaintiffs’ lawyer, requested a court order preventing the defendants from taking any action that could impact the disputed oil fields.

The plaintiffs, Hi-Rev Oil Limited and Hi-Rev Exploration and Production Ltd, have filed the case against the petroleum minister, the Attorney-General of the Federation, and the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.

The suit is registered as FHC/ABJ/CS/2678/2025.

Previously, on December 22, 2025, the court had asked the defendants to explain why the plaintiffs’ requested reliefs should not be granted.

The companies are seeking an interim injunction to prevent the government from selling, transferring, or assigning the following oil fields: Yorla South (PPL 2A32 – OML 11) in Rivers State, Akiapiri (PPL 2A48 – OML 25) and Diebu Creek East (OML 32) in Bayelsa State, and Idiok (PPL 2A41 – OML 67) in Akwa Ibom State.

According to Unaeze, these four oil fields were intended to replace the Utapate Oil Field, which was previously part of OML 13, and OPL 2002, both of which had been withdrawn by the Federal Government.

He explained that the companies had reached a settlement with the government for the replacement of Utapate, which was accepted and formalized as a consent judgment. The firms had already made significant investments and actions toward securing the licenses and developing a petroleum refinery.

During Monday’s proceedings, Unaeze noted that the 1st and 3rd defendants had just served him with a conditional appearance, counter-affidavit, and preliminary objection, and requested additional time to respond.

He urged the court to require the defendants to refrain from taking any action that could affect the case in the meantime, citing the risk to the disputed assets.

Oyinlade Koleoso, Attorney-General’s counsel, stated that while a counter-affidavit and preliminary objection had been filed, the office had not yet served the documents and was not authorized to allocate oil blocks.

Meanwhile, J.A. Olugbade, representing the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, opposed the request, and B.J.

Tabaya, for the minister, said he had no instructions to provide the undertaking sought.

Justice Nwite then intervened, asking, “But when a case is in court, what are you supposed to do?” To which Tabaya replied, “Parties will maintain status quo.”

The judge subsequently granted the plaintiffs’ application, ordering all parties to preserve the current state of affairs until the case is heard and determined.

The matter has been adjourned to January 26 for further proceedings.