OML 30: Heritage Denies Allegation Of Indebtedness, Incompetence

The management of Heritage Energy Operational Services Limited (HEOSL), has debunked allegation of its indebtedness to local contractors and incompetence to continue managing and handling the Oil Mining Licence OML30.

The denial came following calls by the President of Ijaw Youth Council, Worldwide, Eric Omare, (Esq.), to the Federal Government for the revocation of OML30 licence over alleged Heritage’s incompetence and indebtedness to local contractors.

The oil firm, in a press release on Monday, said it manages the OML30 asset for the Joint Venture Partners, the Nigeria Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC) and Shoreline Natural Resources Limited (SNRL), and has greatly increased production output from OML 30.

“The company has also been able to reduce to a large extent the level of oil theft along the Trans Forcados Pipeline there by saving revenue for the Federal Government. Paid over N2.3 billion in taxes to government between 2017 and 2019.

“We have signed a Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with host communities in October 2018 to guide how the company and the community can work together to create understanding and cooperation towards consolidating a mutually beneficial relationship, and as part of our commitment to our host communities, the company has been providing scholarships worth over N181 million per annum to students from its host communities.

“Heritage took over operations of OML 30, in 2017, and inherited many invoices and ongoing contracts. The company noticed that while some of the invoices could be verified, there were some that could not. Despite this, the company went ahead and commenced with the payment of verified invoices while investigating others”.

“The volume of the debts necessitated the development in conjunction with contractors of payment plans for installment payments. Since then, the company has been steadily reducing the debts according to the agreed payment plans”.

The statement however urged the public to disregard the allegations by the youth group.