According to a letter of protest to the petroleum ministry, ExxonMobil Corp. has been accused of participating in the illicit lifting of petroleum products from an offshore port by Nigeria’s downstream oil regulator.
Exxon refuted the charge and said that its “operations are carried out in full compliance with the law” in an email response.
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The transport vessel Barumk Gas was lifting butane from the ExxonMobil-controlled Bonny River Terminal without the “authorization or participation” of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), according to the letter.
The only person permitted by law to possess a key to the oil valve is the regulator, and companies must be accompanied by a member of the regulatory team in order to tap the oil.
“The actions of ExxonMobil and Barumk Gas constitute economic sabotage, criminal damage and theft of Nigeria’s national resources,” NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed said in the letter dated June 8.
Refinitiv data showed that Barumk Gas was completely loaded at the Bonny Terminal, according to him, and that Barumk Gas should not be allowed to sail until an investigation has been completed.
In November last year, a Nigerian court charged 26 men with conspiring to commit a maritime offence and attempting to illegally deal in crude oil after authorities claimed their supertanker was sailing in Nigerian waters without permission. The Petroleum Ministry and NMDPRA have not responded to requests for comment.
