A top NNPC staff who appeared before the House of Representatives has left them in shock after he said the agency does not know the number of oil blocks in Nigeria.
The House of Representatives
The Chief Operating Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation shocked members of the House of Representatives committee investigating the controversial Malabu oil deal and OPL 245 on Tuesday afternoon when he said that the NNPC does not know the number of oil blocks Nigeria.
Bello Rabiu further said that the NNPC was not directly involved in the controversial deal, Mr. Rabiu was asked to give details of Nigeria’s oil fields. Razak Atunwa, the chairman of the committee, said he posed the question because he believed it would help lawmakers to determine Nigeria’s oil revenue prospects amidst the lingering financial crisis.
“I don’t know the answer to that question,” Mr. Rabiu said.
In a report by Premium Times, Mr. Rabiu said statistics about oil prospecting licences and oil mining licences were not kept with the NNPC, but the Department of Petroleum Resources and directed lawmakers to contact the department for the information.
Mr. Rabiu also told the committee that the NNPC Act gave the Minister of Petroleum the absolute power to exercise discretion on award of oil licences. “The NNPC Act, even till today, clearly stated that the minister can award oil exploration licences at his discretion,” Mr. Rabiu said.