Shocking discovery unveiled in Nigeria’s oil industry

In a startling investigation, our team has uncovered a complex and deeply troubling web of corruption within Nigeria’s oil industry, linked to prominent figures and organizations.

This revelation follows comments made by Dangote regarding Malta and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), which raised suspicions of a more extensive scheme.

Our findings expose the intricate operations of oil theft and the workings of oil exportation and importation in Nigeria. Here’s a breakdown of the process:

Extraction: Oil is extracted using drilling rigs.

Processing: Crude oil is exported to refineries internationally and processed into refined products.

Transportation: Processed oil is transported from refineries to storage tanks, blending facilities, and ports via pipelines or ships.

Export: Oil is loaded onto tankers at ports and shipped to Nigeria and other countries.

Sale: Oil is sold in Nigeria at prices set by importers, often referred to as “oil marketers.” The government subsidizes a significant portion of the oil price, a practice known as a fuel subsidy.

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NNPC grants importation licenses to select oil companies responsible for bringing petroleum products into the country.

Another set of companies, including NNPC and a few partners, handles the export and sale of unrefined petroleum products locally and internationally. High-ranking government officials, military leaders, and politicians are deeply involved in oil theft.

Recently, Oando PLC announced the approval to acquire 100% of Nigerian Agip Oil Company, a subsidiary of the Italian multinational Eni S.p.A. This acquisition means that the Tinubu family now owns Agip Oil, which operates 17 onshore oil blocks and produces 11 million barrels of oil and condensates annually.

The company also manages the Bonny natural gas liquefaction plant. The question arises: why would such a successful company divest 100% of such a critical asset?

The Tinubu family’s control over substantial oil reserves in the Niger Delta and their new acquisition of Agip Oil allows them to expand their influence.

Instead of building a refinery in Nigeria, they opted to construct one in Malta. This move enables them to exploit Nigeria’s resources while obscuring their activities.

In early 2021, Enemed Co Ltd, Malta’s leading fuel supplier, issued a tender for leasing storage tanks and a blending facility at the Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal in Malta.

Ras Hanzir Oil Terminal Limited, owned and operated by the Tinubu family, won the bid. The company, chaired by Wale Tinubu of Oando PLC, now controls these critical facilities.

READ ALSO: NNPC Ltd Group CEO, Kyari, denies investment in blending plant in Malta

Implications for Nigeria

Following his inauguration as president, Tinubu announced the removal of the fuel subsidy. However, the government continued to pay it secretly, allowing him to increase petroleum product prices to benefit his monopoly.

With the acquisition of Agip Oil, Tinubu has become Nigeria’s largest oil exporter, explorer, and marketer, second only to NNPC.

The scheme involves selling Nigeria’s oil to his company in Malta at a low price, refining it there, and then re-importing it at a higher price through NNPC and his company, OVH Energy (Oando). This cycle allows him to sell refined oil at a high price to Nigerians while secretly paying himself the subsidy.

This extraordinary level of financial exploitation ensures Tinubu’s oil monopoly will persist even after he leaves office, especially if Nigeria remains without its own refinery. The government will continue to pay him for the subsidy, further entrenching his control over the oil industry.

In 2023 alone, he sold over $2 billion worth of petroleum products to Nigeria through the Malta refinery. This exemplifies what the future of Nigeria’s oil importation will look like.

Tinubu will likely fight against the operationalization of the Dangote refinery, which threatens his multi-trillion-naira oil monopoly enterprise.