That ExxonMobil, Seplat Transaction and Regulation

There is never a shortage of controversy in Nigeria. In the political and economic life of the country, it is very difficult to go a day without one controversy or the other. In the oil and gas industry one is already on and given that this is one of the most opaque terrains of the nation’s economy, we think that the onion peeling about it still has some time to run.

Nigeria’s discovery of crude oil and gas has variously been described as a blessing and a curse. As a matter of fact, some have gone further to hold that it has been more of a curse than a blessing. Those who say it has been more of a curse than a blessing, easily turn to the direction of progress Nigeria was making in the different regions of the country when agriculture was the mainstay and the indolence that the easy money from oil that befell the ruling class and the monumental corruption it has engendered.

Since crude oil was discovered and the governance of the Nigerian Federation tacitly became unitary but in name, the oil and gas industry and its entire operation has left much to be desired. It is at once one of the most opaque and defies any clear understanding by citizens, except for those who are neck deep in its intrigues of twists and turns. One thing for certain is that, for many decades, because of sector’s ability to spew cash, it has been a magnet for sleazy people in government, the political class, corrupt businessmen and businesswomen, who take pride in making it more opaque to keep decades of mystery around it going.

Yet, it is Nigeria’s highest foreign exchange earner. And for this reason Nigerians are keenly interested in what is going on at both the operational and regulatory sides of the industry and its products. This interest in the matter of crude oil by Nigerians is behind the concern often expressed when stories go out that a major international oil company is leaving the country and selling its assets. On one hand there is a concern, and on the other, there is a keen interest to see who will take over such assets, local or foreign, and either become a new king in the murky oily waters of the Nigerian economy, or just increase their status in it.

Credit: Business Am