Sahara Deal In Trouble, As Obasanjo Gets Wild

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, noted for his fierce anti- corruption credentials, has swooped down on the murky world of crude oil deals in Nigeria, and personally taken his pen through a list of oil product contracts and some crude oil term contracts.

He has personally suspended a number and made an outright cancellation of some crude oil term contracts. Obasanjo is also probing some of the terms agreed by NNPC group Managing Director, Mr. Jackson Gaius-Obaseki, with some of the oil trading companies.

At the time of the President's strike, Gaius-Obaseki, whose office was visited by The Chronicle in Abuja couple of months ago, was in Milan, according to Nigeria Focus, the most authoritative Nigerian oil industry journal published in the United Kingdom.

He had to rush back home.

The incident, which happened only a fortnight ago, may have been triggered by reports from insiders to the Nigerian President, the most disturbing one being a 90,000 barrels a day term contract to Petrodel, led by Nigerian trader Michael Prest, who once headed Marc Rich's operations in Nigeria. Obasanjo had previously blocked the Marc Rich operation.

The Nigerian President is said to be particularly miffed that Obaseki, his own man, (like Wereko-Brobby/JAK) did not tell him that he was giving a contract of such volume to Petrodel.

"As it is, the incident follows an internal investigation into a series of deals made by the NNPC chief with the Nigerian trader, Sahara Energy, and a furore over Obaseki's appointment of a new executive management without reference to the board of NNPC."

From the perspective of Ghana, the implication of a rupturing of a contract with Sahara that supplies Ghana's 45,000 b/d without a standby arrangement may be seriously problematic for the country.

Out went the contract with Sahara Energy Resources for this quarter, September 2003, but industry sources told The Chronicle that Sahara could still buy from the open market since they are already selling at a premium to Ghana, and keep the gravy train rolling.

Already Sahara Energy has been the subject of investigation by the board of Volta River Authority (VRA) over dodgy deals that had already cost the authority some $1.73m, with more funny claims in the pipeline.

Wereko-Brobby has mounted a strong and studious defence of Sahara, which The Chronicle will presently unravel, methodically and authoritatively, as it continues its forensic investigation without cost to the Government of Ghana or the taxpayer.

The alleged whiz kid and hero of a section of the local press approved payment for those bogus deals, evidence available to The Chronicle and the VRA Board suggests.

In recent months, it has become Obaseki's practice to award a number of special contracts to Sahara Energy. This includes the processing deal in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire that had been lined up for Addax; and a deal with a guaranteed margin for the small Okono crude stream produced by NNPC subsidiary National Petroleum Development Corporation, delivered by Sahara to Ghana. (This information would be useful intelligence for the VRA board.)

Again, the VRA board probed the blatant breach of the Light crude oil contract with VRA, a subject that The Chronicle is cross-investigating because of the blatantly insulting defence mounted by Sahara's Tony Cole.

Chronicle contacted one of its overseas contacts, Nana Coomson, to check on the address of Sahara in the Isle of Man.

He reported thus:

"Kojo, I have called 01624-67-00-22, the listed phone number of Sahara Energy on their contract documents two times. The second time I got through to a receptionist who gave me a run around. When I pressed her for an urgent discussion with any official of Sahara, she said she was trying to reach one Mr. Paul Winnow.

After keeping me waiting on the phone for still an extended time, I breathed heavily down the line demanding answers as to whether there is any one working with Sahara at that location. The poor girl answered meekly, No! She gave her name as Geraldine.

Kojo, I am sorry, not everything you see is actually standing on legs. I am sorry I don't have much time."

So much for Sahara's UK address. Some of the contracts rejected by Obasanjo include:

SAHARA'S COTE D'IVOIRE
30,000 B/D CONTRACT
SAHARA AND GLENCORE'S
30,000 CONTRACT
VITOL AND CARLSON'S
270,000B/D CONTRACT
GLENCORE'S 30,000 B/D
CONTRACT WITH KENYA
SAHARA'S CONTRACT FOR 30,000B/D WITH GHANA ADDAX'S 90,000 B/D
ITOCHU'S 20,000B/D
OCEAN AND OIL 20,000B/D

As an indication of the seriousness of the action, the Managing Director of Ocean Oil, Mr. Paul Gitte Okoloko, was arrested and two other executives, Wale Tinubu and Mofe Boyo, are in trouble with the powerful Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Their case has to do more with alleged theft of crude supplies. (MORE ANON)

Last week, a desperate Sahara Energy took a cue from Wereko-Brobby and asked The Chronicle to apologise and withdraw its report on its funny deals with VRA (see Zwennes' letter).

A quick look at the Nigerian crude oil loading schedule for the month of October clearly does show that Sahara's name is not listed either as a buyer or a seller.

It however shows Sahara Ghanaian rivals, namely Arcadia, Glencore, Trafigura, Addax, Shell, Total and a few of the companies that had been targeted. It was learnt that some of them had already committed and may be on their last haul before a possible review. Sahara is the only company that is firmly out of the loop.