The FT Nigeria Oil and Gas Report 2013 is scheduled to come out on Monday 6th of May and will be distributed at OTC and to the Nigerian exhibitors there.

To find out about advertising opportunities  contact Mr Toke Ibru:

tokeibru@hotmail.com  

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In an interesting development, which demonstrates its increasing appetite for Nigeria, Alternative Investment Market (AIM) listed Eland Oil has secured an option on Oil Prospecting Licence 452 owned by Amalgamated Oil Company of Nigeria (Amocon). The exclusive option will enable it to acquire a 40 per cent stake after technical due diligence on the onshore block which is located on the eastern side of the Niger Delta.  

OPL 452 is a "sole risk" licence which is 100% owned by Amocon. The licence covers a total area of 668 square kilometres with a mix of firm terrain and estuarine areas at the mouth of the Cross River. The encouraging thing about the licence is that it is located close to some large discoveries including OML 114 (immediately north) owned by Moni Pulo and the Addax-owned OML 123. This reduces the risk on the exploration asset in which no single well has been drilled by Amocon. Like many indigenous licence holders, Amcon has been unable to develop the asset, having neither the technical or financial capability to do so.

CEO of Eland Oil and Gas, said of the development: "We are delighted to have entered into an option agreement with Amocon for the exclusive right to acquire a 40% equity stake in OPL 452. OPL 452 has the potential to be a significant asset to the Company and we look forward to building on our already successful relationship with Amocon over the coming years."  

Eland will develop the asset although its costs, including the costs of the evaluation process, are recoverable from production should they make the acquisition. Eland expects the development to progress quickly after acquisition in view of the proximity of the asset to existing export infrastructure.

Established with the intent to acquire and develop upstream assets in West Africa and with a principal focus on Nigeria, Eland Oil is also involved in another more high profile Nigerian asset. In August last year, in conjunction with its joint venture partner, Starcrest, the company acquired a 45% stake in former Shell asset OML 40 for $154 million. The joint venture vehicle is Elcrest Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited in which Eland holds a 45% interest.  

In the last few days, Eland has updated its investors on the progress of work on the OML 40 asset. The news was a mixture of good progress and some delays. They have concentrated their efforts on the restoration of production from the two existing wells. However, progress of that has been delayed beyond its completion target of end of the first quarter of this year. Once that work programme is completed, the company intends to drill two development wells 2013 and has already secured the services of a swamp rig, which has been relocated to Nigeria to service OML 40.

Commenting on OML 40, Blair said: "Our strategy remains focused on developing OML 40 with its world-class reserves and resources, and to continue in our efforts to build a portfolio of exploration and development assets in Nigeria and West Africa." He added that the company was excited by what lies ahead. 

After issuing a warning that it might close its Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) which carries supplies of its Bonny Light Crude, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has finally declared a Force Majeure on the much sought after crude. The company issued a statement on Tuesday saying that it had been forced to shut the vital pipeline following a leak in the NCTL. The company said in the statement on Tuesday that the leak was noticed on Sunday and that a Joint Investigation visit would be scheduled once access to the leak point is escavated. Following the investigation, SPDC also said in the statement that it intends to mobilise a team to repair the line, which supplies 150,000 barrels per day, after which the NCTL will reopen for operations.

There has been a recent upsurge in crude theft activities on the NCTL, resulting in frequent production shutdown and massive oil spills blighting the environment, SPDC said, calling the amount of oil theft they had experienced lately "unprecedented." Between the 22nd and 25th of February, 12 flowstations producing into the pipeline were shut down by safety systems three times due to oil theft. Each incident has resulted in the deferment of 150,000 barrels of oil per day. The leak on Sunday occurred directly on the NCTL, SPDC said in the statement.  

According to SPDC they spent $1.1 billion replacing the pipeline in 2010, but crude oil thieves have repeatedly targeted the pipeline since it was commissioned. In December 2011 it was shut down following a spill caused by two failed crude theft connections. It re-opened in January 2012 and again suffered multiple trips caused by pressure drops resulting from the illegal off-take of crude oil from the pipeline. Eventually, the NCTL was shut down on 2nd May 2012 to allow for the removal of more than 50 crude theft points.  

Even pipelines buried underground, are not safe from the determined oil thieves. According to the company, last month, they found that some unknown persons had drilled a hole on a gas pipeline which was buried underground some 2km from Soku Gas Plant. The line had to be shut down for repair leading to a force majeure declaration on gas supplies to NLNG on 5th February.  

The Managing Director of SPDC and the Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu is now threatening a permanent shutdown of the NCTL due to the incessant attacks. "It is getting to the crunch that rather than allow people to continue to attack my pipeline and devastate the environment, I may actually consider shutting down the pipeline completely," he said.

The relentless spate of crude oil theft from the nation's pipelines has prompted the Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu to make a direct appeal to the nation.   

"What we are seeing is an environmental tragedy caused by crude oil thieves who have no regard for the impact of their criminal activity on people now and generations to come," said Mr Sunmonu. "Some 95% of the revenue from each barrel of oil goes to the Nigerian state, and the continuous theft has an immediate impact on the economy as well. This is a serious attack on the people, the economy, and the environment."

The devastation caused by oil theft to the environment is immense the company has pointed out saying in a statement that large swathes of land have been affected with water bodies polluted as a result of the leaks caused by oil thieves. Furthermore, the company said, many creeks, especially in an area between Krakama and Awoba have been affected.   

The company says sabotage and crude oil theft were the causes of some 24,500 barrels spilled from SPDC facilities from 140 incidents in the same period, accounting for about 95% of oil spilled.   

Mr. Sunmonu added: "Urgent action is needed against the widespread sabotage, crude oil theft and illegal refining activities to prevent further damage to the environment and the nation as a whole."

"This is a very dangerous phenomenon. ... We have now witnessed a significant upsurge in the activities of crude oil thieves. The situation in the last few weeks is unprecedented. The volume being stolen is the highest in the last three years; over 60, 000 barrels per day from Shell alone. So, that for me is a great concern."

"... Over time, this whole crime has gotten a lot more sophisticated and you could see that the perpetrators are now setting up barge building yards, they are setting up storage facilities, they are setting up tank farms for storing the crude, prior to shipping out. So, if you look at all of these, it is very clear to me that this is not just an act by desperate individuals trying to make a living. This certainly is a well-funded criminal activity, probably involving international syndicates."

"I really want to put it to you that we are in a crisis. We are in a crisis as a country because this is something that I worry is beyond the capacity of any individual company or beyond the capacity of a country to solve. We really need concerted efforts nationally, locally and internationally to actually get this under control. It's really going to cause a big devastation, but I really worry about crude oil theft. Frankly speaking, my worry is not about the economy per se, the economy itself is huge, but I worry more about the devastation, the devastation for the people of Niger Delta, the destruction it will cause to the social and environmental aspect of the people of the delta and to Nigeria as a whole."

"... It is getting to that crunch point and I hope that every hand will really join us in actually getting this under control."

Responding to Shell Country Chair's plea, the Joint Task Force of the Niger Delta said that it was making inroads in the battle against crude oil theft. The operation, which is code named Operation Pulo Shield, has its work cut out for it as it wages battle in an area spanning over 6,000 km of pipeline across the Delta area.  

Recounting the successes of the JTF in the area over the year and a half it has been in operation Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, spokesman for the JTF said: "Last year alone, 7,585 anti-illegal bunkering patrols were conducted. A total of 18 vessels and 1,945 suspects were arrested while 4,349 illegal crude oil distilleries were destroyed. Also destroyed were 133 barges, 1,215 open wooden boats (Cotonou boats), 187 oil theft tanker trucks, 178 illegally distilled fuel dumps as well as 5,574 surface tanks."  

These successes are however small comfort in the fight against what Sunmonu has called "principalities and powers." Even the JTF has had to admit that it is ill equipped to deal with the enormity of the problem as they are not permanently stationed in the area.   

The Association of Private Refineries Owners of Nigeria (APRON) has accused the Federal Government of frustrating the take-off of private refineries by introducing policies that are not favourable to the projects. The Chairman of the Association, Justice Samuel Ilori, who made this known recently, said the government keeps putting obstacles in the ways of private refiners to ensure none of them takes off.   

Ilori, a retired Chief Judge of Lagos State, said those in power are keen on ensuring that no new refinery springs up in the country because of the benefit derived from fuel subsidy. He said: "For the past five years, the association has been lobbying the Federal Government to guarantee the investment of our foreign partners as demanded by them but to no avail."   

"Each licensee has gone abroad to look for creditors and spent a lot of money in searching for foreign partners, which we eventually found. But they are not willing to release money to us because we failed to obtain government's guarantee as a condition for investing," he added. 

Eight years ago, the government granted licenses to 18 private firms to build and operate refineries after paying $1 million each, altogether amounting to $18 million to the government as stipulated in the guidelines. Besides, each of them spent between two to three million dollars on site development. However, the licences have now been revoked by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) for their failure to meet the 18-month deadline to build the refineries.

Ilori described the fiscal incentives rolled out by the DPR as half-measures. For instance, the DPR has stated that the international market price would be maintained for Nigerian crude procured by  refiners - meaning that the crude oil price discount would not apply to the local refiners. The APRON leader considers this policy as discriminatory because, according to him, those who buy crude oil in Nigeria get a discount, therefore, why must local refiners buy at international prices, he asked.

He also criticised the crude oil allocation formula, which stipulates that the "government will guarantee crude oil requirement of refineries up to the maximum turn down ratio, that is, 60 per cent processing capacity of the plant to the extent that crude is available." He argued that it should be 100 per cent to serve as an incentive to private refiners. To ask them to source for 40 per cent of their crude needs may be problematic, he said.

The APRON Chairman said because of the state of insecurity in the country,  foreign investors are asking for sovereign guarantee from the government and a guarantee that their investments would not be nationalised. Ilori, who is also chairman of Atlantic Petroleum Limited, said that his company has spent $3.8 million on their project. In spite of the obstacles in the ways of private refineries, he gave the assurance that Atlantic is still pursuing the project.

He said: "We have foreign investors who are prepared to give us $500-600 million. But the state of insecurity in Nigeria is drawing them back. The last time they (their investors) came to Nigeria, they were worried about the problem of kidnapping. One of them told me his wife warned him against travelling to Nigeria for security reasons. Unfortunately, after two days of their arrival, there was a news-break on television that two foreign oil workers were kidnapped in the East. On hearing this, they immediately packed their things and left the country. All pleas that kidnapping is alien in Lagos could not persuade them to stay on, he said."

On the progress of work at their refinery project, Ilori said: "Our refinery, which is to be located in Badagry will, on completion have the capacity to refine 100,000 barrels per day. We have attained the kick-off stage. The report on preliminaries before the building starts is ready. What we are waiting for is an offshore survey of the ocean to know the behaviour of the ocean. It is quite expensive but we have got a company to do it for us."

The price of OPEC basket of twelve crudes stood at $107.31 dollars a barrel on Thursday, compared with $107.64 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC basket price is recovering from its downward trend over the last month. The basket price reached a recent peak on the 14th of February when it stood at $114.67. OPEC output has grown in spite of decreases in Nigeria's output. The country is saddled with rising crude oil theft, which is affecting output.  

Some analysts have called for the need to have value created by investments in exploration and equity trading within the highly capital-intensive oil and gas industry for the industry to grow and develop like others with similar characteristics. They spoke at an Information Session on value creation in the oil and gas industry in Lagos recently.   

The event which was put together by Rystad Energy and CBO Capital Ltd afforded participants, including operators, investors, lenders and license holders the opportunity of getting these analysts' informed views and perceptions on the issue for the purpose of aiding operators' decision-making processes for investments in the industry.   

In exploration for instance it is reported that based on 2011 production reserve figures, Nigeria has a reserve to production ratio (RPR) of 42.1 years indicating the remaining lifespan of Nigeria's oil resource and clearly highlighting the need for Nigeria to diversify its exploration programme in order to increase its oil reserve base.

This is said to be necessary if Nigeria is to achieve its planned 40 billion barrels of oil reserves as well as 4 million barrels per day oil production target in the next few years.

Between 1990 and 2006 the country's oil reserves grew 117% from 17.1billion to 37.2 billion. Since that time no growth has been recorded in Nigeria's proven oil reserve base, however production has continued. This trend can be attributed to the fact that  no significant investment has been recorded in oil exploration in the last five years and the number of oil wells drilled has also been on the decline since 2006.

But if oil is so valuable why is Nigeria not spending more in looking for it. Besides, why is the FG not subsidizing the financing or spending on exploration? This is definitely a food for thought.   

An analyst with Rystad Energy, Per Magnus Nysveen said it is interesting that despite the current upstream spending levels in Nigeria, a lot of investment opportunities still abound in deepwater exploration.

He said in the offshore Niger Delta for instance there are thick and rich, sweet sediment spots which provides a high rate of returns on investment for investors and huge financial gains for the government.

Specifically, he said, the largest deepwater discoveries have the capacity of generating about $3bn yearly to investors and about $6bn to the government adding that right now the USAN project is the most profitable.     

He however called for the right information on investment as that is necessary for the profitability of major oil and gas projects most, especially deepwater. He suggested that consultancy and advisory services be sought from service providers whose analysis and evaluation of potential oil and gas assets is important to make the right investment decisions.     

Bex Nwawudu, a director at CBO Capital Partners spoke about equity trading in the oil and gas industry especially at the upstream end. Nigeria's capital market, he said, is not witnessing a lot of activity in terms of investment unlike other developed countries.

He said: "Unlike Canada and Norway whose capital markets remain a source of financing to their own economies and that of other countries, in Nigeria's capital market, despite the significance of oil to the economy, it has no representation."

While the oil and gas market capitalisation accounts for 46 and 39 per cent respectively for Norway and Canada, he said it is disturbing that the market capitalisation for Nigeria is just 2 per cent

As for mergers and acquisitions, he said the turnover of Canada and Norway is 21 and 4 per cent respectively while that of Nigeria is a dismal 1 per cent. He said this was unacceptable if comparison was made of the value of the reserves of the three countries.

He therefore called for more information and transparency in the industry as these are the drivers of the overseas market. 

On Wednesday, the Senate began their debate on the provisions of the PIB. The debate was very heated as the lawmakers grappled with contentious issues in the bill. The most controversial provision was the one that provides for a Host Community Fund to be set up and paid to host communities from 10% of net profits of the oil companies. This provoked very robust contributions, the most controversial being that of Senator Ita Enang representing Akwa Ibom North East, as he made the startling, though unsubstantiated allegation that leaders and businessmen of Northern extraction own over 83 per cent of Nigeria's oil blocks.

He named a number of Northerners who are beneficiaries of oil licence awards but quoted reserves and production figures some of which NOGintelligence is aware are inaccurate. Enang urged the Senate to cause the immediate revocation of all oil blocks licences and their redistribution, in accordance with the Federal Character Principle.

He said: "My submission is that when you look at the distribution of those who own oil blocks and the amount of money that comes from the different oil blocks to the Federation Account and you see the owners of these oil blocks, you will agree with me that there is inequity in the distribution of oil blocks."

He went on to explain that the Host Community Fund is not just for the oil producing communities but is also for communities that host oil infrastructure, which includes oil pipelines, refineries, gas pipelines and anything that is capable of causing danger.

"If we had the Host Communities Fund, the danger that we have been having in Arepo in Ogun State, the area would have benefited from the ... fund," he said. Other areas, such as Kaduna and some other states, will also benefit from it he said.

Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on the other hand, stressing the need for urgent reform in the Petroleum Industry, said: "The last thing we will do is not to do anything at all, that is worse than where we are"

.

"We are here debating about Community Host Fund provisions and the likes, while we do not even know how much we are producing!" he said. Highlighting the irony of the situation, he said: "The Oil Companies are the ones that give us figures of how much we as a nation produce!"

"What is the need of debating on 10% and 13% derivatives when we are loosing thousands everyday in unaccounted barrels of Oil, we loose everyday?" he asked.

He added: "Then all hands must be on deck to produce a worthwhile document which will effectively govern our Petroleum Industry, and make for transparency and accountability in the sector".

Closing the debate after a second reading late on Thursday, Senate President David Mark said lawmakers were jointly opposed to the sweeping powers granted to the oil minister, Diezani Alison-Madueke, in the current version of the bill.

"We are very united on the fact that too much power is given to the minister, particularly ... where the minister can grant leases unconditionally," he said, adding, "By the time it comes back there will be amendments, additions and subtractions."

As the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill begins to reach a critical stage in the National Assembly, The Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), has asked the legislators to consider whittling down the powers of the Minister of Petroleum Resources, as enshrined in the PIB so that any incumbent Minister will not become dictatorial.

The umbrella body of the oil and gas workers said it was worried about the delay in the passage by of the bill into law by the National Assembly, and that the delay  and politicking over its passage does not augur well for the advancement of the oil and gas industry.

The Union therefore, called on the National Assembly to expedite the necessary legislative actions and pass the bill into law so that the oil and gas industry can move forward. The General Secretary of the Union, Comrade Isaac Aberare, said in a statement, that oil and gas workers are not happy about the delay in the passage of the bill which is robbing the country of billions of dollars of new investments into the oil and gas industry that could bring about employment opportunities, adding that the delay is also leading to divestment by some of the oil companies.   

According to the NUPENG scribe, the Union condemns in its entirety, the negative reaction of some northern senators that are not in support of the bill because of some provisions, particularly the Host Community Fund. Aberare admonished the stakeholders, particularly the northern senators to allow reason to prevail, adding that the argument against the Host Community Fund was unpatriotic, selfish and unnecessary, knowing fully well the extent of environmental degradation caused by oil exploration activities in the oil producing communities.   

He stated further that the Northern senators who are working against the passage of the PIB should exercise restraint and canvass for the extension of such monies to host communities in the North, where hydroelectricity installations are situated along their rivers and where solid minerals are tapped.

"NUPENG calls on the National Assembly to commence public hearing of the PIB, so that the various stakeholders can express their views, misgivings and proffer solutions to some of the grey areas in the Bill, which should be harmonized in order to have it as a law that will be acceptable to all parties," he said. 

"The Union also wants NASS to make the PIB more accountable and transparent and that labour issues relating to staff transfer, conditions of service, pensions and gratuities be well taken care of, so that an industrial relations matter will not be triggered," Aberare added.  

Steel magnate, Lakshmi Mittal, who is worth over £12 billion is facing cross-examination in a British High Court over his business dealings and political connections in Nigeria. His former friend Moni Varma is accusing him of reneging on an agreement they had over some oil deals in Nigeria. Mr Varma alleges that Mittal had an agreed to pay him a commission for helping to secure oil block allocations in Nigeria. Mr Varma said in court papers that he expected to be compensated if he was able to secure the allocations using his Nigerian influence.  

Mr Varma has been battling with Mittal over the last few years to get some compensation for the access that he says arranged for Mittal to the then Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo. As a result, he claims, Mittal was awarded two oil blocks.  

Varma's case is that he and Mittal have been well known to each other for over 20 years, meeting socially from time to time and discussing business opportunities.  

In documents put before the court, Varma who claims to have known the then Nigerian President, Obasanjo since 2001 said he arranged a meeting for Mittal with Obasanjo which led to the award of two oil blocks in the Niger Delta before slowly being edged out of the deal.

Mittal set up his company Mittal Investments Sarl in 2005 with the intention of entering into the oil business. It formed a joint venture with a subsidiary of India's leading oil and gas exploration company.   Not long afterwards, Varma claims, Mr Mittal, who is known for his expensive tastes and lifestyle, met with him for dinner in Knightsbridge to discuss possible deals in Nigeria.

Later that year, in September, Varma claims that he had a conversation with Mittal about how he would be remunerated in the event that of a successful deal. According to him, in that conversation, Mittal said that Varma would be paid in the region of between 5% and 15% of Mittal's investment if the deal came through. The critical words according to him that were uttered by Mittal were either: "I will cover you" or "You will be covered," leading him to understand that he would be paid a success fee. According to him, Mittal then continued: "The reward could be even bigger than 15%," adding that this would depend on the size of the deal.

Mittal is defending the claim on the basis that Varma was merely a social acquaintance that offered to introduce him to Obasanjo. He is denying that the crucial conversation over the success fee ever took place. His lawyers will also say that Varma did not introduce Mittal to Nigeria as he claims.

The hearing is expected to last 21 days.

In spite of Varma's claims that Mittal reaped hundreds of millions of dollars from the deal, the reality is that Mittal's venture into the Nigerian oil industry does not appear to have been as successful as he had hoped.  

The company was awarded two deepwater oil blocks, OPL 212 and OPL 209 in 2005. The blocks had estimated reserves of 500 million barrels each. The joint venture, ONGC Mittal Energy (OMEL) paid a signature bonus of just $50m and $65m respectively for the blocks but was required to spend $6bn in infrastructure support in return. They were to be operated under production sharing contracts. Covering an area of around 1,170 sq km, OPL-285 is located 80 km offshore, near Shell's prolific Bonga field, in water depths ranging from 400 to 900 metres. OPL-279 is located some 100 km offshore, near the Ehra and Bosi fields, in water depths ranging from 800 to 1,800 meters. The licence covers an area of around 1,125 sq km.

OMEL commenced the first phase of work on the blocks last year which it says established sub-optimal quantities of hydrocarbons in both blocks. The company was therefore unwilling to continue into the second phase of the projects. They have now relinquished OPL 279 and are also threatening to pull out of OPL 285 unless the government agrees to waive the $6bn investment condition for the grant of the block. Under the terms of the agreement, OMEL is required to invest in a 180,000 barrels per day greenfield refinery, a 2,000 MW power plant or a railway line form east to west of Nigeria upon commercial discoveries on the blocks. There were also further requirements on the company under the MOU with the Nigerian government, including commercial agriculture and the upgrade of the Petroleum Training Institute in Delta State. Under the terms of the agreement, the Federal Government would decide the order of priority of the projects.

There were some sweeteners offered in the deal, however. OMEL would get a 120,000 barrels per day crude oil lifting contract on a commercial basis.  

According to OMEL, the downstream deal did not come to pass and as a result they have asked the government to waive the investment commitment. They say they have been told by their analysts that it was a bad deal as what was intended to be a sweetener could only have provided a negative return.

OMEL partnered with Total on the blocks with the oil major taking 25.67 per cent in OPL 285 and 14.5 per cent stakes in OPL-279. The Nigerian company EMO Exploration and Production is also a partner on both of the blocks.  

London has been gripped by divorce fever as the city awaits the Supreme Court decision in the high profile oil money divorce proceedings between Michael Prest, an oil trader and his wife, Yasmin. It is turning out to be a fight over his oil wealth even as corporate law goes head to head with family law following a ground breaking decision from the Appeal Court.  

Prest who made his first fortune representing billionaire oil trader, Marc Rich in Nigeria is the owner of Petrodel Resources Ltd, an integrated energy resource company involved in exploration and production, shipping and trading. Petrodel was awarded OPL 258 in 2006. It later exited the block but it has oil blocks in Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. The company is also involved in oil trading and has a 90,000 barrels per day term contract with NNPC.

Petrodel is at the heart of the Prest v Prest battle which has been going on for a couple years but is set to come to a head when the Supreme Court hands down it ruling on the case following the latest hearings on the 5th and 6th of March. The judge has described the case as "a truly extraordinary case even within the breadth and depth of family division bounds."  

There are three companies are the heart of the complicated case all connected with Prest and Petrodel. The first instance decision in the High Court came down to whether as the 100% shareholder of Petrodel, Prest was "entitled" to the assets of the company, which included several London properties, one of which was the £4 million marital home in Maida Vale in London. Yasmin sought an award of £30 million while he offered her £2. If he was "entitled" then she could expect a share of the properties. The question was what was the legal meaning of the word "entitled". This would depend on whether the "corporate veil" could be pierced so that Prest could then be treated as the owner of (and therefore entitled to) the company assets. 

Usually a corporation is treated as a separate legal person, which is the sole beneficiary of the assets it owns. Common law countries like England, usually uphold this principle of a separate legal personality but in exceptional situations, may "pierce" or "lift" the corporate veil. This amounts to a legal decision to treat the rights of a corporation as the rights of its shareholders.

A question that exercised the judge, and the Court of the Appeal, was whether the properties were "property" to which Prest was entitled. Only if they were did the judge have jurisdiction to make the orders for them to be treated as part of the matrimonial assets. The judge concluded hat he was entitled to regard the property as such "property" and went ahead and made the order that they be included, and having decided that Prest was worth £37.5 million, he went on to award Yasmin £17.5 million (approximately half).  

The UK has in recent years become the divorce Mecca of the rich and famous after the ruling many years ago that unless there was a "stellar contribution" by the husband, the wife should always be awarded half of the matrimonial assets.

On appeal, the Lord Justices of the Court of Appeal were particularly tasked by whether the judge had been right to rule that Prest was "entitled" to the assets of the company.  

Concluding (by a majority) that the judge was wrong, and allowing the appeal, the Court of Appeal said: "What needs to be emphasised is that the provisions of s.24(1)(a) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 do not give the court power to disapply the established principles of legal and beneficial ownership or of company law."

"Married couples who choose to vest assets beneficially in a company for what the judge described as conventional reasons including wealth protection and the avoidance of tax cannot ignore the legal consequences of their actions in less happy times," they added.

Company lawyers have welcomed the ruling after seeing established company law principles eroded over time by family court judges. 

The Supreme Court will now rule on whether the Court of Appeal or the High Court  was right.

The Hydrocarbon Pollution Restoration Project (HYPPR), an interventionist unit within the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which was set up to handle environmental issues in the Niger Delta, has said that it is assessing oil spills and air pollution in Arepo Village in Ogun State.

In a statement in Lagos signed by Head of Communication Units Mr Nims Obunge, it said that a team, led by its National Coordinator, Mrs Joy Nunieh-Okunnu, had visited Arepo on Tuesday. He said in the statement that the visit was at the behest of an invitation from Ogun State Commissioner for the Environment, Prince Lanre Tejuosho. According to the statement, the Minister of Petroleum was particularly interested in developments in Arepo.

HYPPR will also conduct an air quality analysis and perform tests on the water in collaboration with the State government.
 

According to the statement, the Ogun State Commissioner for the Environment intends to pursue compensation for oil spill victims in the community.

It will be recalled that Arepo has been the scene of repeated attacks on the NNPC pipeline supplying petroleum products. One of the attacks resulted in the murder of two NNPC staff sent to repair the pipeline after one of the vandalisation incidents. As a result, NNPC pulled its staff from the area until their security could be assured, leaving the vital pipeline out of commission for several months. This lead to some of the worst fuel scarcity the country has experienced in recent times. The pipeline has now been repaired and is back in use.

Addax Petroleum Development Limited has empowered no fewer than 71 Niger Delta youths through its Technical Skills Acquisition Programme (TSAP), at a cost of over N514 million. The youths are from the host communities in Rivers and Imo states were graduating from the TSAP, at the Federal College of Education (Technical), Omoku in Ogba/Egbema/Ndoni Local Government Area of Rivers State.

Speaking during the graduation held at the Federal College of Education (Technical) in Rivers State, the Managing Director of the company, Chief Cornelis Zegelaar represented by the Deputy Managing Director, Legal, Supply Chain Management and Regulatory Affairs, Tunji Mayaki, Zegelaar urged the youth not only to be self- employed, but to be employers. He said they should be focused, hardworking, dedicated and result-oriented. In the speech, the Addax boss noted that the programme was introduced in 2001, with the objective of training talented youths in their chosen vocation and providing the necessary support for them to set up their own businesses and create employment opportunities in their communities.
After the training, the youth were empowered with basic tools/starter packs and a take-off grant of N150,000 each. He said 460 youths had so far been trained.

In addition to the training programme, the Addax chief said the company awards 291 university scholarships annually, out of which 175 awards go to students from their host communities while the remaining 116 awards are spread across the country, under the national merit programme. He further noted that 165 scholarships are also awarded yearly to secondary school students from the host communities.
 

Speaking on behalf of the graduands, Comfort Taribo, urged Addax Petroleum to extend the training to two years, with six months out of it to be used for industrial attachment and also increase the number of beneficiaries. She urged other oil firms to emulate Addax.

Texas, United State of America

4- 6 March

www.spe.org

SPE DIGITAL ENERGY CONFERENCE

Texas, United State of America

5- 7 March

www.spe.org

SPE/IADC DRILLING CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Amsterdam, Netherlands

6-7 March

www.speevents.org

OFFSHORE ASIA                               

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

6-8 March

www.offshoreasiaevent.com

Bahrain

10 -13 March

www.meos2013.com

THE OFFSHORE FALKLAND SUMMIT

London, United Kingdom

11-12 March

www.thefalklandssummit2013.com

MOZAMBIQUE GAS SUMMIT

Maputo, Mozambique

12 March

www.mozambique-gas-summit.com

Amsterdam, Netherlands

18- 20 March

www.osvsummit.com

Aberdeen, United Kingdom

18-20 March

www.offshoresafetysummit.com

OFFSHORE WEST AFRICA

Accra, Ghana

19-21st March

www.offshorewest Africa.com

13TH CIPPE

China Beijing

19-21 March

www.biztradeshows.com

Singapore

20 -21March

www.smalltomidlngsummit.com

11TH OFFSHORE MEDITERRANEAN CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION

Ravenna, Italy 

20-22 March

www.omc.it

3rd ANNUAL OFFSHORE INDONESIA OIL & GAS

Jakarta, Indonesia

25-27 March

www.indooilgas.com

2ND ANNUAL OIL & GAS LOGISTICS SUMMIT

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates 

26 - 27 March

www.fleminggulf.com

5TH AFRICAN PETROLEUM CONGRESS AND EXHIBITION

Libreville, Gabon

26- 28 March

www.eapce.eac.int

2ND ANNUAL ENHANCED OIL RECOVERY &HEAVY OIL CONFERENCE

Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

27-28 March

 www.fleminggulf.com