NEITI seeks public disclosure on Nigeria's oil allocations

Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which audits the
country's oil industry, Wednesday called on the government to publish all oil
licenses allocated to companies in line with global best practice.

An oil rig in Nigeria

     "There is a need for transparency in the acquisition and award of oil
prospecting licenses and mining leases," a NEITI statement quoted the head of
the agency, Zainab Ahmed, as saying.
     Nigeria oil acreage management and allocations, according to Ahmed,
lacked transparency, while oil and gas production, exports and revenues were
also shrouded in secrecy.
     "Publishing contracts helps citizens evaluate which benefits and
protections their country receives in exchange for access to publicly owned
natural resources," Ahmed said.
     She called on the government to install metering facilities at oil
export terminals to guarantee the accurate measurement of crude production
and exports as is the practice in other oil producing countries.
     Last year, a presidential committee reported that the oil ministry
handed out seven oil licenses on a discretionary basis between 2008 and 2011,
which cost the government $183 million in signature bonuses.
     Also, NEITI's audit of the Nigerian oil industry covering the period
between from 1999 to 2011, has revealed large-scale discrepancies between
revenues and taxes declared by oil companies and various government agencies,
as well as differences in production figures submitted by companies and
government agencies.
     Foreign oil companies operating in Nigeria include Shell, Chevron,
ExxonMobil, Eni and Total.
     Nigeria is Africa's largest crude oil producer, exporting more than 2
million b/d, and also holds the world's ninth largest gas reserves.