The House Representatives during Wednesday plenary session mandated National Petroleum Investment Management Services ( NAPIMS) to re-award the $260.67 million contract to a Nigerian Company, Tilone Subsea Limited.
The House also directed the Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria Limited (a subsidiary of ExxonMobil) to mobilize Tilone Subsea Limited to provide Operational Inspection Maintenance and Repairs (OIMR) and World Class Remotely Operated Vessel (WCROV) services to meet its requirement for Usan operations in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 138.
The resolution was passed sequel to the adoption of the report of the joint House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream) and Public Procurement in line with its resolution passed in February 2016.
The Committee observed that the $260 million contract was allegedly awarded by National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), a subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in violation of due process and without approval from both the NNPC’s board and the Corporation’s Group Executive Committee (GEC),” in lime with extant laws.
The petitioner further alleged that NAPIMS granted approval for ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, to award four single source contracts for projects in Exxonmobil’s Usan Deepwater Project, at a total value of $260,670,391.61 without any form of tendering process.
According to the petitioner, NAPIMS had allegedly through three memos, dated October 13, 2014; February 10, 2015 and April 16, 2015, single handedly nominated four companies to execute the contracts.
The report was adopted at the Committee of the Whole chaired by Yussuff Lasun, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
“The House also urged the NNPC and its Joint Venture Partners to always adhere to due process in their transactions to eliminate prolong disputes that may negatively impact on investments.
“Given that since the contract for the provision of the DP2-DP3 Construction Platform Support Vessel single sourced to GMT Energy Limited is already ongoing, the Contractor should be given enough termination notice by demobilizing it at a ate not later than the first year anniversary of the commencement date of the contract.
“That given both the Nigerian content human capital development and financial investment already made by Tilone Subsea Limited,mother committee recommends that the NNPC Board do approve the NAPIMS memorandum of 30 December,2013 which cleared NAPIMS Contract Review Committee on 10 July, 2014 referenced A10-190614 for the provision of OIMR Vessel and WROV for Usan operations in OML 138;
“The House noted that EEPNL should mobilize Tilone Subsea Limited to provide OIMR Vessel and WROV Sercices to meet its requirement after the demobilization of GMT Energy Limited,” the adopted report read.
According to the report seen by BusinessDay, “the committee further found that although the NNPC Board granted approval for the contract to be awarded to Til one Subsea Limited, TUPNI awarded the contract to Oceaneering Limited instead.
“Tilone appealed to the House of Representatives to intervene and reverse the award made by TUPNI to Oceaneering. In 2010, the House of Representatives resolved in favour of Til one Sunbsea Limited, and directed that the contract revert to Tilone.
“Following the intervention by the House of Representatives, and a directive by the NNPC Board, in January 2012, TUPNI compensated Tilone with a contract for the provision of one OIMR vessel and two ROVs as a single contract. After two years of running the contract, ownership of the oil field changed hands from TUPNI to ESSO Exploration and Production Nigeria (EEPNL). The contract was novated from TUPNI to EEPNL in February 2014 for duration of five years.
KEHINDE AKINTOLA, Abuja
