By Dipo Olowookere
More revelations are emerging in the controversial Malabu Oil saga as Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Tuesday in a statement that it knew a firm linked with former Minister of Petroleum in Nigeria, Mr Dan Etete, Malabu Oil and Gas Ltd, would get a share of the $1.1 billion paid to the Nigerian government in 2011 for an exploration license.
Shell said in the statement that it “knew that the Federal Government of Nigeria would compensate Malabu to settle its claim on the block,” saying further that, “Over time, it became clear to us that Etete was involved in Malabu and that the only way to resolve the impasse through a negotiated settlement was to engage with Etete and Malabu, whether we liked it or not.”
This is a change in the previous stance of Shell on a deal presently under investigation for alleged corruption.
It was alleged that Shell and Eni used the deal to “corruptly” pay $801 million to Malabu, Mr Etete and others.
The oil giant previously said it was unaware Mr Etete would be paid from the deal until today, when it admitted in the statement.
However, the Anglo-Dutch oil company reiterated that its joint purchase with Eni SpA of the license was “fully legal,”
Shell and Eni SpA’s joint purchase of Nigeria’s Oil Prospecting License 245, estimated to hold about 9 billion barrels of crude, is being investigated in three countries.
Eni reiterated in a statement that it hasn’t been involved in any wrongdoing and did not make payments to Malabu, Etete or any public official.
Dutch authorities are investigating Shell’s role in the deal. A Milan judge is also considering whether to accept a prosecutors’ request that Eni Chief Executive Officer Claudio Descalzi be indicted for his involvement in the deal. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 20.
The change in Shell’s stance since the internal emails were first published by Buzzfeed on April 9 runs counter to previous comments about the deal, according to Global Witness.
“This is a huge U-turn,” Simon Taylor, founder of the anti-corruption campaign group, said by email. “Now its private emails have come to light, Shell has admitted it dealt with Mr Etete.”
Lagos-based Malabu was awarded the prospecting license in 1998 by former military leader General Abdulsalami Abubakar, at a time when Mr Etete was serving as oil minister.
The government of President Olusegun Obasanjo, which took office in May 1999, cancelled the license in 2001 and awarded it to Shell a year later.
Malabu was awarded the field again in 2006 and Shell contested the rights until 2011, when along with Eni it paid the government to settle the dispute. The state subsequently transferred funds to Malabu to resolve its claim on the license.
Additional information from Bloomberg.
