Confronting China on Nigerian Crude oil (I)b

By

Sampson Iroabuchi Onwuka
...

The truth then and now is that China is drilling oil in Nigeria and has been since 2005, and the answer we seek to note is why this same ‘three refineries’ which was part of the old and done deal from initial 2005 licenses still resurface in many other ways?

We are also aware that China reached a trade agreement with Nigeria that will involve an offload of 30, 000 bbl/d of crude oil in next recurring five years from 2005. Counting backward from 2010, there is no denying that China has not been making billions from Nigerian oil over these five years. What they are saying is that now in 2010, the refineries are yet to be built, and if and when built, the refineries would be a lend lease of 23 billion dollars to Nigeria. The duration for this repay of money is not noted or public. In my view, there is a something missing from the stages of oil drilling and production, and given the very dark compromises of Obasanjo’s administration, there is a new face of what Shell was in the early 80’s to Nigeria in very recent oil business in Nigeria.

Actions prejudicial to human rights are not China concerns and ignoring Transparency International is only part of official policy. Perhaps these days China may be noted as business driven but in due time as more hands ease from China control of large Nigerian Crude oil, we would more than likely experience a second version of Shell.

It goes without saying that Chinese are hugging too much action in Africa, but what is China expected to do, for how could they lose the chance to shine in a world that is full of competition. It is quite difficult to understand the difference between the MUO of the past between China and Nigeria involving three refineries and production of petro-chemical accessories and the MUO of the present, with the same set of people and set of features. In terms of other companies, what happened between 2005 and 2008 was that a ‘share’ price of 25 billion dollars was offered to Nigeria government which never made to the very country and that proved nonexistent after withholding the license. China, like of the Asian countries whose licenses were confiscated in 2008, played as much deceiving role as these Asian compeers now scrambling for Nigeria oil.