The Citizens Advocacy for Social & Economic Rights (CASER) has condemned the recent contracts awarded by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) for oil and gas metering systems.

In a statement on Monday issued by Frank Tietie, director for advocacy center at CASER, the group said the contracts awarded undermine Nigeria’s national interest.

On July 12, the federal executive council (FEC) approved a $21 million contract for the construction of a metering system for all crude oil flow stations in Nigeria.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), said the contract awarded would be for a period of 180 days (six months), adding that the move would allow the country to meter about 187 flow stations.

NUPRC inaugurated the metering audit and advance cargo declaration project teams on July 25.

While inaugurating the project teams, Gbenga Komolafe, NUPRC’s chief executive officer (CEO), said the projects were designed to curb oil theft and boost revenue.

The NUPRC boss said the projects would be executed by PE Energy Limited and P-Lyne Energy.

CASER said the contract reeked of “high-level corruption”.

“CASER has strongly advocated for the implementation of the international cargo tracking note (advance cargo declaration) and have in the past, had course to pursue legal action which stalled an earlier attempted breach of the Public Procurement Act,” the statement reads.

“This measure is crucial to ensure accurate revenues from exports and imports, particularly crude oil exports and petroleum imports, prevent the influx of illegal arms and weapons together with other contrabands, and collate accurate trade statistics for vital national planning purposes.

“The federal government of Nigeria, under the past administration of president Muhammadu Buhari had already awarded the contract to a consortium led by Antasser Nigeria Ltd, a global leader in cargo monitoring for ensuring national security and accuracy of revenue remittances to governments across the world.

“However, it is with profound disappointment that we have learned from the minister of state for petroleum, Heineken Lokpobri, of the recent revelation that contracts for the engineering audit of upstream measurement equipment and facilities in the Nigerian oil and gas upstream has been awarded to a particular company, PE Energy Limited, for the sum of $21 million, while another contract for the procurement of pre-field development studies for advanced declaration solution technology (international cargo tracking note) for the Nigerian oil and gas upstream sector was awarded to P-Lyne Energy Limited for an amount yet to be disclosed.

“Essentially, the above two recent contracts form part of services to be rendered free of charge to the federal government in a different contract which has already been awarded to a consortium led by Antasser Nigeria Ltd, and the services to be provided by these recent awards are a clear duplication of services that are actually meant to be at a total zero cost to the federal government of Nigeria under the implementation of the international cargo tracking note (ICTN).

“It is important to question why the Nigerian Shippers Council and the honorable minister of marine and blue economy have not activated the existing contract with the Antasser-led consortium, instead they have allowed for a duplication of the same contract by another agency of the same government.

“This duplication seems to either be motivated by corruption and the self-enrichment of certain individuals in positions of power or the refusal of a cabal benefiting from the status quo.

“The conclusion is easily reached due to the speed and lack of transparency in the processes that led to the recent announcement of the appointment of PE Energy Ltd and P-Lyne Energy Ltd to execute a part of an already awarded contract. These processes defy all public procurement standards, raising more questions than answers at a critical time when our nation is battling with serious economic and security issues.”

CASER said this underscores the urgent need for a thorough examination and comprehensive overhaul of the current operations within the Nigerian oil and gas sector.

It said this call for action is particularly necessary given the recent crisis involving the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), and the Dangote refinery.

The advocacy group urged President Bola Tinubu to direct all relevant authorities, including Heineken Lokpobiri, the minister of state for Petroleum (oil) and Gbenga Komolafe, CEO of NUPRC, to immediately halt “unnecessary and unjust duplication” of the oil and gas metering and cargo monitoring contract awarded to PE Energy Ltd and P-Lyne Energy Ltd.

The group recommended that the authorities liaise with the Nigerian Shippers Council to implement the already existing contract.

CASER announced plans to initiate a freedom of information (FOI) request, expressing suspicions of corruption and favouritism despite the provisions of the Public Procurement Act.

The group said it is seeking information on several aspects of the process including the contract details and when it was advertised and information about the companies that submitted bids.

Others include details about the winning bidder, including the bidding process used and the reason for their selection, evidence that this process went through all the required agencies for such a contract and the ultimate beneficiaries of the contract.

CASER reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that Nigerian government institutions and agents act in the best interests of Nigerians’ well-being through the judicious use of resources, compliance with legal standards, eradication of abuses of public office for self-service, and reduction of public sector corruption.

The group called on the president to hold accountable and penalise all officials involved in this “clear case of corrupt contract” manoeuvring and to ensure that appropriate actions are taken without delay.