President Muhammadu Buhari has approved the restoration of OMLs 123, 124, 126 And 137 leases to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, which is in production sharing contract with Addax Petroleum, a company of the Government of China),on the blocks.
According to the Presidency, this is in line with the government’s commitment to the rule of law, fairness and enabling a stable business climate for investment.
The leases for the oil blocks were revoked by the Regulator on March 30, 2021 and awarded to another entity, against the provisions of the Petroleum Act.
The Presidency statement said: “It is clear that the procedures governing the revocation of lease(s) in the Petroleum Act were not duly followed in this case and Mr. President had to step in to ensure justice and fairplay is done, which are cardinal principles of this administration.
“This development will indeed go a long way to reaffirm the confidence of foreign investors in the polity and also re-affirm the position of Nigeria as a desirable investment destination in the continent where sanctity of contract is respected.”
President Buhari directed the Department of Petroleum Resources ( DPR) to retract the letter of revocation of leases.
He also directed the NNPC to utilise contractual provisions to resolve issues relating to the NNPC/Addax PSC in line with the extant provisions of the Production Sharing Contract arrangement between NNPC and Addax.