Addax petroleum licence revocation won’t affect Nigeria-Chinese relations – Sylva

THE Federal Government has stated that the revocation and reversal of Addax Petroleum’s oil mining licence will not affect Nigeria’s relations with China.

Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Sylva, made this known in a statement posted on the ministry’s official handle after meeting the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria H.E CUI Jianchun on Thursday, in Abuja.

“Officials agreed on excellent relations that exist between their two countries and expressed the need to deepen partnership.

Among other issues, they both agreed that the recent revocation of some OMLs held by Addax was purely a commercial decision and will not have any impact on the excellent relationship between the two countries.”

Recall that President Buhari recently approved the restoration of the leases on OMLs 123, 124, 126 and 137 to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) which is in production sharing contract with the Chinese government-owned, Addax Petroleum.

The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), had on March 31, 2021, revoked the four assets of Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Limited, namely OMLs 123, 124, 126, and 137 due to the non-development of the assets by the company.