FG stops pre-shipment monitoring for oil and gas

Pre-shipment agents involved in monitoring oil and gas operations onshore may no longer have a job to do as the federal government has cancelled their contracts with immediate effect.

The Federal Ministry of Finance, in a statement signed by its Director of Press, Mr. Marshall Gundu, disclosed that the Finance Minister, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, ordered the cancellation following complaints and petition alleging irregularities in the engagement exercise.

“Mrs Kemi Adeosun has ordered the immediate cancellation of the tendering process for the engagement of Pre-Shipment Inspection and Monitoring Agents for Oil and Gas. The decision was necessitated by the receipt of numerous complaints and a petition regarding alleged irregularities in the process,” he said.

Gundu added that “since the inception of the process, numerous complaints were sent to the Federal Ministry of Finance, suggesting that the method by which the 65 companies were selected was faulty and lacked transparency.

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“Additionally, a formal petition was received by the Bureau of Public Procurement making specific allegations about the process. Under Public Procurement rules, the receipt of a formal petition requires a suspension of the tendering process to allow an investigation. However, in this instance, the Minister has taken the decision to cancel.”

Pre-Shipment Inspection of Oil and Gas Exports commenced in 2015 and requires a Clean Certificate of Inspection to be issued, confirming the volume and the value of all exports. The programme is believed to have enhanced government revenues by preventing misstatement and understatement by exporters.

The Ministry of Finance stated that it was in consultation with the Bureau of Public Procurement to commence a new process and to ensure interim arrangements for service provision. The Ministry further stated that details of the new process would be communicated shortly.

It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had in June 2015, mandated the Federal Ministry of Finance, under the then Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Anastasia Nwoabia, to commence the process of engaging Pre-Shipment Inspection and Monitoring Agents. Thus with the approval of the Bureau of Public Procurement, a selective tendering process was initiated under which 65 companies were selected and invited to bid.

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