DPR revokes licenses of five oil mining firms

Segun Oladipupo ~

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has revoked five oil mining licences (OML) and one oil prospecting licence (OPL) belonging to five companies.

Recall that the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, had last February announced plans to recover the oil licences of the companies indebted to it.

The former minister lamented that some of the companies had failed to make statutory remittances in spite of being in Joint Operatorship Ventures (JV) with the Federal Government, a development, he said, was denying it revenue running into billions of dollars.

But according to a public notice issued on Thursday by the regulatory body, the revocation was based on a presidential directive to “recover legacy debts” owed by the companies operating the licences.

The five companies affected are: Pan Ocean Oil Corporation (OML 98); Allied Energy Resources Nigeria (OML 120 and 121); Express Petroleum and Gas Company (OML 108); Cavendish Petroleum Nigeria (OML 110) and Summit Oil International (OPL 206)

Pan Ocean hopes to commence the production of oil and gas from OML-147 at Owa Aladima.

The firm’s three projects which will be ready for unveiling at the technical start up taking place June 10, 2019, is expected to contribute significantly to Nigerian industrialisation and economic growth.