The bickering between the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) and Nigerian Maritime Safety and Administration Agency (NIMASA) over $140 million tax worsened yesterday as the agency declared that it would resume legal action against NIMASA and Global West Vessel Specialist Limited (GWVS) in its bid to be exempted from paying freight levies on its gas cargoes.
This action, the company said in a statement, was sequel to a ruling on August 11by a Court of Appeal sitting in Lagos, which upheld NLNG’s request to sue a private security company, Global West Vessel Specialist Limited, employed by state maritime security agency NIMASA to carry out blockades of shipment of LNG cargoes between May and June 2013.
The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists has attributed the lag in petroleum exploration in the country by oil companies to the rapidly rising costs of exploration, which in most cases more than double the initial costs.
Total Nigeria Plc has posted 10 per cent drop in profit before tax for the half year ended June 2015. In a filing with the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the company’s pre-tax profit declined from N2.178 billion during the comparable period of 2014 to N1.967 billion, accounting for a drop of 10 per cent. Gross earnings of the fuel marketer also dipped to N111.974 billion from N120.157 billion in the previous year.
