A crude cargo owned by General Hydrocarbons Limited, an oil company, has been seized as the organisation’s rift with the First Bank of Nigeria (FBN) worsens.
The seizure followed an order granted by a federal high court in Port Harcourt to arrest and detain the crude oil cargo on board the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel named Tamara Tokoni.
The FBN had filed a motion exparte seeking the arrest of the cargo.
In the suit, dated January 6 and filed on January 9, the financial institution also prayed the court for an order directing officers of the navy, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) and the harbour master of the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) to assist the admiralty marshall of the court in effecting the arrest of the cargo, which is also the second defendant in case.
The cargo is now in the custody of the admiralty marshall in line with the court order, according to a notice of arrest.
“The above named Cargo being in custody or poseession of the Admiralty Marshall by virtue of a Warrant from the Federal High Court, Port Harcourt, all persons are hereby cautioned not to attempt to remove the same or interefere therewith without the authority in writing of the said Marshall or his substitutes, otherwise they will be immediately proceeded against,” the document, seen by TheCable, reads.
In the past few days, the FBN and GHL have been at loggerheads over a loan deal for the exploration, production and development of oil mining lease (OML) 120 in the Niger Delta.
Both companies had entered into a subrogation agreement on May 29, 2021, which required the bank to provide capital to the oil company for the development of OML 120, with proceeds shared equally.
However, in a statement on Tuesday, First Bank accused GHL of “diverting” the proceeds after off-taking crude from the floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) vessel.
In a separate statement addressing the dispute, the oil company denied diverting funds disbursed by the lender, describing the allegation as “befuddling”.
GHL also said it does not owe FBN $225 million as widely reported in the media.
