By CLARA NWACHUKWU

After months of keeping quiet, the management of Capital Oil and Gas Industries Ltd has described the allegations against it by the Aigboje Aig-Imokhuede-led Presidential Committee on Subsidy Payments Verification, as “completely unsubstantiated.”

The oil marketing company also insisted that the committee’s allegations are “unwarranted and unacceptable.”

The Presidential Committee had accused Capital Oil of two infractions by making claims for: “Subsidy payments without proof of existence of the mother vessel bill of lading or daughter-vessel bill of lading;” and “Subsidy payments for which proof of existence of the mother vessels were not found in locations claimed at the time of transshipment.”

In an advertorial also carried in Sweetcrude, the oil marketing company reputed for having the biggest private depot operator with over 2000 workers in the country, said it was being forced to react in view of “the potential damages” the “falsehood” has on its business interests both within and outside the country.

Defence of allegations

Accordingly, Capital Oil while pledging “full support for the sanitisation of the petroleum industry” especially with regard to a more transparent subsidy regime, however called for “objectivity, fairness and honesty “in the ongoing subsidy scam probes.

Therefore, criticising the Aig-Imokhuede Committee’s Report as falling short on these values, the oil marketing company went on to defend that  regarding the mother vessel used for the transshipment, it had provided to the committee “evidence of both mother and daughter vessel documents (including bill of lading).

We also provided letters from our product supplier (Vitol S.A. and Delany, both internationally recognised oil trading companies) confirming the transshipment and vessel positions. SGS, who is one of the key inspection companies worldwide, participated in the transshipment operations as mutual inspectors for us and our suppliers.”

Against this backdrop, the company said it is “at a loss as to how the committee arrived at such an unbelievable and hasty conclusion when there is a clear evidence of bank funding of the transaction…”

Parts of the evidence the company referred to included the opening of Form ‘M’ by COTECNA, a government pproved agent; establishment of Letter of Credit; appointment of an inspection agent by the bank to monitor loading and discharging operations; and the truck-out of the product from the depot.

Furthermore, the company said it also tendered the requisite Notice of Readiness, NOR;  and Notice of Arrival, NOA, to both the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, and the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory, PPPRA, prior to loading from mother vessel and prior to berthing of vessel at its depot.

Besides, it noted that all other relevant government agencies were also physically present during the transaction including the Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Customs Services, Nigerian Immigration Services, NIMASA, NPA, bank surveyors, inspectors and external auditors and confirmed the transactions.

Committee disregarded justice and objectivity

Consequently, Capital Oil expressed dismay that in spite this proofs, the committee still “came up this indefensible and unsustainable report” against it. It also declared that its “operation is in total compliance with the government policy and laid down procedures on petroleum product importation.”

Moreover, it noted that all subsidies paid to it in respect of all transactions under the PSF Scheme were domiciled with the banks that funded each transition as a refund to credit extended for them, while proof of sale of proceeds were tendered to the committee.

Also, notwithstanding the fact that there was no prior notice for marketers to subscribe to Lloyds monitoring, Capital Oil maintained that the instrument of information used by the committee is in accurate, in view of the evidence provided by Vitol via its letter dated July 12, 2012, which also provided transshipment operations from Motion Tanker, MT Haruna Express to MT Rofos offshore Cotonou, in Benin Republic.

As a result, the company accused the committee of “a flagrant case of double standard, since it requested for further verification of documents and did not bother to conduct the exercise before declaring that the company had a “likely fraudulent case for criminal investigations.

Facts emerged Monday that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) was not a party to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed recently with a United States firm, Vulcan Petroleum Resources Limited and an indigenous company, Petroleum Refining and Strategic Reserve Limited, for the construction of six modular refineries in Nigeria.

A highly placed NNPC source told THISDAY Monday night that the NNPC’s top management was consulted by the Trade Ministry in respect of the refinery deal.

He said the corporation had no hand in the project and is currently not in partnership with either the trade ministry, US firm or the Nigerian company in respect of the said modular refinery project.

“As far as we are concerned, we don’t know anything about the six refineries project. The NNPC was not consulted, nor its consent sought by the Ministry of Trade. The NNPC was not invited at the said signing ceremony and was also not represented. We are not collaborating with any company on any such project,” the sources who craved anonymity said.

Announcing the $4.5 billion refinery project last month, Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga had stated that the six refineries, which will have a combined capacity of refining 180,000 barrels of oil per day would be built in collaboration with the NNPC.

Aganga, who signed on behalf of the Federal Government, had stated that two of the refineries would be completed within the next 12 months, while the others will be completed within the short to medium-term.

The minister had also noted that the refineries would be located in areas where there are crude oil pipelines, adding that when completed, each modular plants will refine up to 30,000 barrels of crude oil per day and produce up to five million litres of petrol, diesel and kerosene.

“This is a historic moment and a big step for us as a country. Apart from power, one of the critical areas, which President Goodluck Jonathan has made a priority, is to have functional refineries. My understanding is that by the time the whole project is completed, the cost is estimated at about $4.5bn.

“This is the beginning of changing our old paradigm from exporting just raw materials and exporting jobs to the Western countries. There is no nation that has moved from being a poor nation to a rich one by exporting raw materials without having a vibrant industrial base. That is what we have to change for us to be a rich nation, and that is what the National Industrial Revolution Plan is based on,” Aganga was quoted to have said at the agreement signing.

Vice-President/Director, Vulcan Petroleum Resources, Mr. Jim Mansfield, and Chairman, Petroleum Refining and Strategic Reserve, Mr. Edozie Njoku, had signed on behalf of their respective companies.