Oando Debunks Link with Oil Storage, Blending Plant in Malta 

.Eni eyes $8.7bn revenue from asset divestment in Nigeria, others by 2027

Peter Uzoho

Oando Plc, one of Nigeria’s successful independent oil and gas companies, has refuted any link to an oil storage and blending facility located in Malta where dirty petroleum products are allegedly imported into Nigeria.

This was just as Italian energy major, Eni, has disclosed the company’s target of raking in more than 8 billion Euros, equivalent of $8.7 billion in net proceeds from asset disposals by 2027.

In a statement issued yesterday, signed by its Chief Compliance Officer and Company Secretary, Ayotola Jagun, Oando stated that neither it nor its executives have ever held shares, investments or interests in the fictitious Maltese company.  

The Maltese blending plant has been in the news lately following allegation by Africa’s richest man and President of Dangote Industries Limited, Aliko Dangote, that some officials at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) own and operate an oil blending plant in Malta from where they import blended fuels into Nigeria.

But the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, Mele Kyari, had publicly denied owning any blending plant in Malta and denied having knowledge of any of the company’s officers owning such a facility in the country mentioned.

However, in debunking the alleged connection with the Maltese blending facility, Oando said as part of a comprehensive investigation into the basis of the false claims, it conducted a search of the Malta Business Registry, the official repository for all registered entities past and current within the country.

It maintained that their search yielded no results for a company bearing that name, adding that subsequent due diligence efforts similarly failed to uncover any record of the company’s existence. 

The Nigerian company said it believed that the false claims were of the malicious intent of misleading the public and the company’s stakeholders.  

The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to recent allegations on social and digital media, levelled against Oando PLC (‘Oando’ or ‘the Company’) of being a shareholder, and its Principals of being Board members, in a Maltese company, Raz Hansir Oil Terminal Limited that operates an oil storage and blending facility, and is purportedly responsible for importing adulterated petroleum products into Nigeria. 

“Considering the above, we wish to refute such claims and attest that neither Oando PLC nor its Executives have ever held shares, investments, or interests in the fictitious Maltese company.  

“As part of a comprehensive investigation into the basis of the false claims, we conducted a search of the Malta Business Registry, the official repository for all registered entities past and current within the country. Our search yielded no results for a company bearing that name. Subsequent due diligence efforts similarly failed to uncover any record of the company’s existence. 

“We therefore believe that the false claims are of the malicious intent of misleading the public and our stakeholders.”  

As a publicly listed company, Oando reiterated that any corporate actions such as acquisitions were  declared publicly in accordance with applicable corporate governance Laws and Rules. 

The company said furthermore that it was imperative that information released about a publicly quoted company such as Oando was  thoroughly researched and deemed accurate before it was published in the public domain. 

“The company’s securities are traded daily across two exchanges (NGX and JSE). To prevent misinformation and confusion among investors, as well as our other stakeholders, we implore all members of the Press to take adequate steps to ensure the veracity of reports by fielding all enquiries with Oando PLC’s Corporate Communications department,” the company added.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Italian oil giant, Eni, Claudio Descalzi, has disclosed the company’s target of raking in more than 8 billion Euros, equivalent of $8.7 billion in net proceeds from asset disposals globally by 2027.

Descalzi stated this yesterday after the Italian energy group reported second-quarter results ahead of consensus, according to Reuters.

“We have been executing our disposal plan much faster than anticipated,” Descalzi said, speaking with analysts on a post-result conference call.

In its updated business plan to 2027, the group said it aimed to collect around 4 billion euros from the sale of oil and gas assets and a similar amount from minority stake sales and initial public offerings of its low-carbon units.

The prospects of higher proceeds from disposals and better return for investors pushed Eni stock up more than three per cent yesterday.

After reporting a smaller than expected drop in second-quarter net profit, Eni promised to accelerate its share buyback and hinted that it may nudge it up in the coming months.

In the last few months, Eni agreed to divest upstream assets in Alaska, created a business combination with Britain’s Ithaca (ITH.L), opened a new tab spinning off its North Sea operations and moved forward in the sale of onshore assets in Nigeria, Reuters reported. 

THISDAY had reported that Eni has completed the sale of its Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) to Oando Plc, as was confirmed by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) after months of delay due to regulatory hurdles since September 2023.