Management

Italian judge puts Nigerian businessman on trial in oil graft case

February 19, 2020 | Current Affairs, Legal, Management, Nigeria

Milan, Italy | – An Italian judge has ordered a Nigerian businessman to stand trial for alleged international corruption relating to a Nigeria oil graft case involving Eni and Shell, a judicial source and his lawyer said on Wednesday. Milan prosecutors allege that Alhai Aliyu Abubakar played a central role in one of the oil industry’s biggest scandals in years, handing out more than $500 million in cash to powerful Nigerian government officials. The money is alleged to come out of the $1.3 billion licence …

BP CEO Dudley draws up plans to step down next year

September 30, 2019 | Company Operations, Management

London, UK | – British multinational oil and gas company BP plc Chief Executive Officer Bob Dudley is drawing up plans to step down next year, ending a tumultuous decade at the helm of the oil and gas company that swung from near collapse in 2010 to rapid growth today, sources close to the company said on Monday. BP’s first American CEO has indicated several times in closed discussions in recent years that he would like to retire at the age of 65, taking him …

Nigeria says ex-President and his Oil Minister took bribes: court filing

May 14, 2019 | Legal, Management, Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria | – The Nigerian government has accused former President Goodluck Jonathan and his then oil minister of accepting bribes and breaking the country’s laws to broker a $1.3 billion oil deal eight years ago, a London court filing shows. The deal, in which Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell and Italian peer Eni jointly acquired the rights to the OPL 245 offshore oilfield, has spawned legal cases spanning several countries. In papers advancing a London commercial court suit against Shell and Eni, lawyers for …

Shell, Eni executives face corruption allegations over Nigerian oil deal

May 10, 2019 | Legal, Management, Nigeria

London, UK | – Royal Dutch Shell Plc and Eni SpA face additional corruption allegations over a Nigerian oil deal, after the West African country’s government said in a London lawsuit that it believes a handful of executives, including CEOs, were tied to more than $1 billion in bribery payments. In court documents filed in early April, the Nigerian government said the oil companies’ senior managers agreed in 2011 to make a large payment for an offshore oil block, understanding the money would trickle down …

Sonangol boss fired by Angola’s President as fuel runs dry

May 10, 2019 | Angola, Government & Regulations, Management

London, UK | — Angolan President Joao Lourenco fired Sonangol EP Chairman Carlos Saturnino as he revamps the company amid persistent fuel shortages in the southern African nation. The presidency appointed Gaspar Martins to lead the state-owned company with a new board after incumbent members were dismissed, according to a statement late Wednesday. Lourenco met with oil industry officials on Tuesday, vowing to end shortages at gas stations across the country that imports almost all of its fuel. Lourenco appointed Saturnino chairman in 2017 and …

Nigeria’s oil sector contributes 92.9% of illicit financial flows

March 05, 2019 | Government & Regulations, Management, Nigeria

Abuja, Nigeria | — A report by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) and Trust Africa has disclosed how companies and persons doing business in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector contribute 92.9 per cent of the total amount of illicit financial flows (IFFs) the country records every year. Presented recently in Abuja, at a workshop, the report titled: ‘Averting Illicit Financial Flows in Nigeria’s Extractive Industry,’ stated that while it was generally difficult to measure IFFs as a result of their illegality; types of …

Afren former executives sentenced for fraud and money-laundering

October 30, 2018 | Company Operations, Legal, Management

London, UK | – The former CEO and COO of collapsed upstream company Afren were sentenced to up to six years in prison on Monday after they were convicted of fraud and money laundering over a $300 million business deal, Britain’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said. Former Afren Chief Executive Osman Shahenshah and former Chief Operating Officer Shahid Ullah laundered more than $45 million, some of which was used to buy luxury properties in Mustique and the British Virgin Islands, the SFO said. “The significant sentences …

Angolan President approves Sonangol restructuring

October 05, 2018 | Angola, Government & Regulations, Management

Luanda, Angola | – Angolan President João Lourenço has approved the restructuring plan for Angolan National Oil Company Sonangol, local media reported Thursday. The statement from the presidency said the measure would help to make Sonangol more competitive and profitable, Nogtec Bureau reported. Details about the planned restructuring were not included. In April 2016, the Angolan Ministry of Oil announced that Sonangol would be restructured. While in a December 2016 interview with the Financial Times, the former Sonangol chair Isabel dos Santos said the NOC would be …