FG: Honours Senator Bassey Albert (OBA) over Escravos dispute settlement | Ibomplaza News
By: Anny MICHAELS
……..The exquisite ambience of frazer suites, 294 Leventis Close in the Central District of Abuja on Thursday 9th January, 2020 hosted critical players of the oil and gas sector of Nigeria, Captains of industry and the political class at the instance of the Nigeria Petroleum Corporation of Nigeria (NNPC) on the approval of President Buhari to honour Distinguished Senator Bassey Albert (OBA), Chair, Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources Upstream with a meritorious award for successfully settling an age long dispute of Escravos Gas To Liquid (EGLT) that plagued the oil and gas sector for more than a decade.
The Distinguished Senator was invited for the epoch event through a letter personally signed by the Group Managing Director (GMD) of NNPC, Mr Mele kolo Kyari who commended Senator Albert for playing a leading role in the resolution of the dispute, which he said will contribute immensely to the stability of the oil industry and further boost investors confidence.
Recall in December 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari had mandated the NNPC to conclude the settlement with Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), which a suit of agreement was brought to the fore, signalling the final settlement of the EGLT cost dispute.
The investigation and negotiations that led to the signing of the deal, anchored by Senator Albert, dates back to 2015 during his first term as Chairman, Senate Committee on Gas Resources in the 8th Senate and has yielded a 60/40 Joint Venture (JV) sharing ratio, as against the 75/25 JV between Chevron and the Federal Government in the $11billion EGTL project The deal also factors a settlement cost of over $6 Billion.
Senator Bassey Albert’s rare patriotism and loyalty to Nigeria is responsible for his steadfastness in ensuring the negotiations pulled through at the end of the day.
The 6th and 7th Senate had previously launched investigations into the rift, without any remarkable progress leaving the country to losing hugely from possible revenue from the project.
The deal will enhance the energy security through domestication of EGLT diesel and further enable adequate utilization of gas, which in turn will earn the country an appreciable Foreign Exchange.
The EGLT plant is a facility designed to convert rich natural gas into petroleum product, of which about 70% is approximately premium quality diesel.
Following the agreement, It is believed that the plant will form a cornerstone of the energy ecosystem of Nigeria.
Following the pleasant development pundits have continued to pour encomium on the people’s Senator Albert (OBA) for his unselfish disposition in ensuring that he placed the interest of the nation first in ensuring that the rift was resolved to create greater revenue capacity for Nigeria to enhance her development.
The event attracted the crème de la crème of the society including His Excellency, the Senate President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr Ahmad Lawan, Chief Timipreye Silva, Minister of State Petroleum, Pastor (Mrs) Nkeiru Bassey Albert among other personalities.
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