Reps To Probe Sterling Oil Over Illegal Activities, Racketeering, Others

The House Representatives is
to immediately commence the investigation of Sterling Oil Exploration and Energy Production Ltd over unwholesome illegal activities, contract splitting and use of special purpose vehicles entities to circumvent local content laws, contract racketeering, breach of local content laws, amongst others.

The decision followed the
approval of a petition against Sterling Oil presented on the floor of the House by Hon. David Umar from Kaduna State at plenary on Tuesday.

Written by a leading civil society organisation, the Social Justice and Civil Rights Awareness Initiative, the petition accused Sterling Oil of unwholesome activities aimed at undermining laws made for efficient running of the Nigerian Petroleum industry.

It particularly decried the activities of Sterling Oil exploration at their company’s OML 13 field development project located at Eastern Obolo in Akwa Ibom state where the company was alleged to use only specifically purpose vehicles and split contracts and award same to only entities that they have full control of, fixes prices and thereby circumventing and frustrating Nigeria local content law, undermining the reforms in the oil and gas sector.

According to the petition, some of the companies listed for investigation were Silver Star Environmental Nigeria Ltd, Geo Mud Nigeria Ltd, United Oil Production Systems Ltd, Parallel Runways Enterprises Ltd, Alacrity Production Systems Ltd, Cement Board Nig Ltd, Ashtavinayak Hydrocarbon Ltd, Prime Sources Construction and Infrastructure Ltd, Geo Seiemic Survey Ltd and British Oil and Gas Exploration Ltd.

The petition was unanimously accepted by the House and consequently referred to the House Committee on Public Petitions to urgently investigate the alleged grave infraction that is hampering the development of the Nigeria petroleum industry and contributing to the capital flight that is currently injuring the country’s economy.