After months of inaction brought on by a variety of concerns, including money being diverted, governance violations, and debt to JV partners, the administration of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited has taken over the operatorship of the Oil Mining License (OML) 18.
According to a reputable industry source, NNPCL obtained operatorship of the asset with the support of the Nigerian Upstream Regulatory Commission, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission intervened to look into claims of financial irregularities and fraud made against the management of Eroton.
Eroton is now hampered by a plethora of legal proceedings, including ongoing lawsuits brought by various parties against the firm, claims of fraud, and flagrant financial mismanagement.
This is in the best interest of the nation that the asset has been taken over by NNPCL to facilitate the seamless restoration of operations on OML 18,” the source stated. Located in the Eastern Niger Delta and covering a total area of 1,035 Sqkm in onshore swamp terrain, Eroton became an operator in OML 18 in 2015.