SKorea appeals over quashed Nigeria oil deal: company
Seoul's state energy firm said Thursday it has petitioned Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua to reverse his country's decision to scrap oil exploration rights awarded to a South Korean consortium. "We've petitioned the president to reconsider the cancellation of oil exploration rights given to us," a spokesman for the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) told AFP.
He declined to elaborate, saying the issue is too sensitive. The Nigerian Ministry of Petroleum cancelled rights to develop two offshore oil blocks awarded to a South Korean consortium led by KNOC, citing an alleged failure to make payments, KNOC said in January. The two blocks are estimated to hold some two billion barrels of crude in total, according to KNOC. South Korea has a 60 percent stake, with a British company owning 30 percent and a Nigerian firm the remaining 10 percent, in the product-sharing deal. Nigeria accused the South Korean consortium of failing to pay 231 million of the 323 million dollars promised in return for exploration rights. KNOC said the 231 million dollars had already been written off by the former Nigerian government in return for the consortium's construction of infrastructure including a power plant and gas pipelines for Nigeria. The government of President Umaru Yar'Adua took office through a much-criticised April 2007 election victory.
Seoul's state energy firm said Thursday it has petitioned Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua to reverse his country's decision to scrap oil exploration rights awarded to a South Korean consortium. "We've petitioned the president to reconsider the cancellation of oil exploration rights given to us," a spokesman for the Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC) told AFP.
He declined to elaborate, saying the issue is too sensitive. The Nigerian Ministry of Petroleum cancelled rights to develop two offshore oil blocks awarded to a South Korean consortium led by KNOC, citing an alleged failure to make payments, KNOC said in January. The two blocks are estimated to hold some two billion barrels of crude in total, according to KNOC. South Korea has a 60 percent stake, with a British company owning 30 percent and a Nigerian firm the remaining 10 percent, in the product-sharing deal. Nigeria accused the South Korean consortium of failing to pay 231 million of the 323 million dollars promised in return for exploration rights. KNOC said the 231 million dollars had already been written off by the former Nigerian government in return for the consortium's construction of infrastructure including a power plant and gas pipelines for Nigeria. The government of President Umaru Yar'Adua took office through a much-criticised April 2007 election victory.