Justice

By Akin Kuponiyi

In a bid to recover a total sum of $35.7million royalty on oil and gas production, concession rental and gas flaring penalty due to Federal Government of Nigeria, Ministry of petroleum resources, has dragged an oil exploration production company, ALLIED ENERGY PLC before a Federal high Court in Lagos,south west Nigeria.

In a statement of claim accompanied with written statement of Assistant Director, planning Division of the Department of petroleum resources Efe Bassey and filed before the court by a Lagos Lawyer Barrister Adebayo Ologe, it was alleged that Allied Energy PLC in receivership, in the course of it’s mainstream business, applied for and was granted an oil mining lease number 120(OML120) and oil mining lease number 121(OML121) for the exploration and production of petroleum oil and gas assets.
Upon the grant of the aforesaid OMLS by minister of petroleum resources, Allied Energy PLC operated the oil blocks covered by OMLS, taking full benefits of the exclusive right to prospect, explore, produce and undertake marketing of crude assets in commercial quantities in the leased areas without let or hindrance whatsoever.
A leader/operator of the aforesaid OMLS, the Allied Energy PLC was bound to fulfill counterpart obligations of ensuring prompt remittance of statutorily fixed sum of money representing the royalty on oil and gas production, concession rental and gas flaring penalty due to the Federal Government through the office of the minister of petroleum resources.
However, Allied Energy PLC was alleged to have failed, refused and neglected to make these remittances to the Federal Government. These include, but not tinted to, the royalties for oil production from the relevant oil blocks. In the sum of $34.7 million and gas flared penalty in the sum of $1,085million for various years dating back to 2009.
The minister through the Department of petroleum resources for which he has oversight functions at different times, has written to Allied Energy Plc making repeated demands for all the outstanding payments royalty for oil produced from the relevant oil blocks and gas flared penalty for various years dating back to 2009, but the defendant has failed and refused to make any remittance.
Whereof, the plaintiff claim against the defendant are as follows:
The sum of $35.7 million being outstanding oil royalties and gas flared penalties owed the Federal Republic of Nigeria on OMLS 120 and 121 interest on the said sum of $ 35.7 million Perpetual injunction restraining the company either by itself or through it’s agents, receiver of it’s assets creditors from having access to or dealing with its assets or residual thereof, until the aforesaid sum of USD 35.7 million and accumulated interest thereon have been satisfied or fully discharged.