Crude Oil Swap – Alison-Madueke Approved Extensions for Oil Firms Without Formal Contracts

As the House of Representatives continues its investigation into the crude oil for refined products swap programme of the last administration, it has been revealed that the former Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, informally extended the contracts of the two main firms, Duke Oil Company Incorporated, and Trafigura Ltd from 2011.

Both companies had substantive contracts which lasted from October 2010 to October 2011, when the contracts elapsed. They however continued to lift crude till December 2014 without formal agreements. In the period, Duke, a subsidiary of the NNPC, and

-based Trafigura, lifted crude worth $24 billion.

Speaking when he appeared before the Adhoc Committee investigating the Refined Product Exchange Agreement/Crude Oil Swap between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation/Petroleum Pipelines Marketing Companies (NNPC/PPMC) and some oil firms.

on Tuesday, former Group Managing Director (GMD) of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Austin Oniwon said the initial contract expired during his tenure which lasted from May 2010 to June 2012.

Oniwon initially insisted that there were no breaches in the swap deal during his tenure. Questioned by the members of the committee, he however admitted that the Minister approved the extension of the contracts without formality. "There was an approval for the extension by the Minister. I believe the records are with the NNPC," he said.

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