Nigeria’s Senate launches investigation into Brass LNG

Nigeria’s Senate voted to launch an investigation into the Brass LNG project and its banking records. 

The investigation will look into alleged corruption involving Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its Brass LNG project which has meandered in the planning stages for over a decade.

Some of the project partners have already canceled their support and withdrawn from the project due to unfavorable operating conditions. When set-up in 2003, NNPC held 49 percent stake, with ConocoPhillips, ENI and Chevron each holding a 17 percent stake. French major Total acquired a stake in the project in 2008.

According to the Senate document, senator Dino Melaye drew attention to the issue with the Brass LNG banking records.

“He informed the Senate that accounts of such ventures are maintained with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), but in this case, the account is operated by Keystone Bank without Bank Verification Number (BVN) which engage in transfer of funds in United States Dollars outside Nigeria,” a Senate document shows.

The Senate voted on launching an investigation into the matter, Reuters reports citing a separate document which shows that the latest deposit into the account was $648 million in September 2016. Currently, the account holds $137 million, however, no details were provided on the difference between the current balance and the September 2016 deposit.

The investigation will further look into the investment into the project and the returns for the federal government and whether a due procedure was followed.

LNG World News Staff