The House of Representatives has requested that the Federal Government halt the planned $250 million auction of Oil Mining Licence 11 after receiving bids of $1 billion through the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company. Victor Mela, the motion’s sponsor, pointed out that the oil field under OML 11 had previously been run by the Shell Petroleum Development Company as a joint venture but had been idle since the company was ejected from Ogoniland in 1993.
Mela recalled that the SPDC joint venture had lost its right to renew its operating license in a Court of Appeal decision from August 16, 2021, and that OML 11 had subsequently been renovated and invested in a Nigerian National Petroleum operating subsidiary.
He said, “The House is worried that there are unresolved issues between the government and the host communities of Ogoni that are currently fuelling resistance and restiveness amongst the people “The House is worried that the government is involved in under-the-table or covert arrangements to auction OML 11 assets to Sahara Energy Limited for a paltry sum of $250m as against the $1bn offered by the SPDC.
