***UPSTREAM NEWS*** ERHC
Top-level meeting set to ease JDZ blocks gridlock
By Upstream staff
Final resolution of the continuing uncertainty surrounding the allocation of key blocks in the Joint Development Zone administered by Nigeria and Sao Tome&Principe may come when the Joint Ministerial Council (JMC) meets on 6-7 February in Abuja, writes Barry Morgan.
The JMC will set a date for the official signing of PSCs for blocks 2, 3, 4, 5 and perhaps also Block 6.
Most controversial has been the swift action of preferential rights holder ERHC Energy to sign a memorandum of understanding with Addax Petroleum replacing Noble Energy, which pulled out of a joint operatorship agreement for Block 4.
Addax had not even bid the block and critics in Sao Tome castigated Nigeria for its swift approval of the deal, arguing that second-highest bidder Anadarko Petroleum should have been consulted first.
Sao Tome finally approved the deal last week, enabling the JMC meeting to be brought forward a few days. It is understood from Joint Development Authority sources that "no big issues remain to be overcome and the matter is in its concluding stages", with PSC signatures expected shortly after the JMC.
To underscore the urgency of the process, President Fradique de Menezes flew into Abuja for talks with his counterpart Nigerian head of state Olusegun Obasanjo this week.
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03 February 2006 00:02 GMT | last updated: 03 February 2006 00:02 GMT
