Akwa Ibom State Government has declared a recent attempt by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to sell off some of its assets, even as there is a pending court case, as upsetting and unbecoming of a responsible corporate citizen.
The state government said it was most irresponsible that the International Oil Company did not inform the state government, which is a critical partner, of the intention to carry out such major activity on its shared assets.
Recall that Exxon Mobil had recently issued a release informing the general public that it had reached an agreement to sell its equity interest in Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited to Seplat Energy, a Nigerian independent oil and gas company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Seplat Energy Offshore Limited.
“This sale will allow us to prioritise competitively advantaged investments in our strategic assets, and it supports the Nigerian government’s efforts to grow its oil and gas operations,” said Liam Mallon, president, of ExxonMobil Upstream Oil and Gas. “We value the relationships we have spent decades building with the government and people of Nigeria, which will continue as we maximise the value from our deepwater operations.”
“When finalised, the sale will include the Mobil Development Nigeria and Mobil Exploration Nigeria equity ownership of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, which holds a 40 percent stake in four oil mining licences, including more than 90 shallow-water and onshore platforms and 300 producing wells,” the release stated
In an interaction with newsmen in Uyo at the weekend, however, the Akwa Ibom State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Uko Essien Udom (SAN), said the state government had filed a suit in court to prevent Mobil from proceeding with the assets sale.
Udom informed newsmen of another pending case involving ExxonMobil and the Akwa Ibom State government, initiated by the former, following the revocation of some Certificates of Occupancy from the company.
He said the attempt to sell off some of the assets, some of which were shared between the duo and the alleged plans by the company to relocate from the state would further frustrate the outcome of the initial court case.
In his words, “Mobil has not formally informed the state government that they are selling and leaving. Everything we heard was from the press. which is most irresponsible for any corporate citizen. There has been no direct contact with us. That is an action that may frustrate the outcome of a pending court case”.
“Akwa Ibom State Government had to enter a court case restraining Mobil from continuing with the proposed sale of its assets and that’s because there is pending litigation between Mobil and the government of Akwa Ibom State. The attempt to sell its asset, some of which may include assets belonging to Akwa Ibom State was handled in a manner that is rather upsetting.
“Mobil has been in Akwa Ibom State for several years and the relationship has been very good until recently. The fact that they’ll attempt to sell in a surreptitious manner without any discussion with the government of Akwa Ibom State is very distressing and not to be expected of a responsible corporate citizen.
Attempting to provide some insight on why ExxonMobil may have dragged the state government to court in the first instance, Udom said “All the land in Akwa Ibom belongs to the government, the government gives out a certificate of occupancy. Some of the certificates of occupancy purportedly old have been revoked. They actually sued the Akwa Ibom government challenging the revocation of some of the C of Os and the matter is pending and is continuing.
“It is, therefore, a big surprise to us that in the pendency of these lawsuits, they went ahead and attempted to sell some of the assets and leave. That is why we have the order, stopping them from continuing the sale and removing any asset from Akwa Ibom State. The sell-out cannot be allowed to proceed because when you have parties contesting ownership of assets, all those things would be kept in abeyance.
“The court has the right to keep what is called “subject matter of litigation”. Any attempt by either of the parties to deplete the asset or sell or dispose of them would be resisted by the court. it is contemptuous actually”. he said.