By VICTOR AHIUMA-YOUNG

LAGOS — Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, PENGASSAN, has petitioned the Presidency, asking it not to grant approval for ConocoPhillips to sell its oil blocks to Oando, without resolving pending labour issues, threatening to shutdown the oil industry should the sale go.

In a petition to the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, PENGASSAN, equally warned Oando Nigeria Plc, the prospective buyer of the oil blocks not to sign any agreement on acquisition process until ConocoPhillips finally and conclusively settled all labour issues.

The association insisted that should Oando decide to ignore its warning, Oando should be prepared to settle all liabilities, including labour issues especially payment of severance package and sales bonus to Nigerians working in ConocoPhillips.

PENGASSAN in the petition by its Public Relations Officer,  Seyi Gambo, said the association was ready to use all mechanisms within the ambits of the law to ensure that ConocoPhillips respected the extant labour laws and other international conventions regarding severance of employees.

The association claimed that all expatriates in the employment of ConocoPhillips in Nigeria had been settled and redeployed to the company’s operations in other countries, while the Nigeria nationals were neglected.

The petition reads in part: “We are aware that ConocoPhillips will be completing the process of outright sales of its operations in Nigeria to Oando in the next one or two months and that the company will be approaching the Minister of Petroleum Resources and the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, for approval for the sales of the oil blocks to Oando next week.”