A Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday fixed April 9 for hearing in a suit filed by three oil firms against the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) over drilling charges imposed on them.
The plaintiffs are: Transocean Sedco Forex, Noble Drilling and Pacific International Drilling.They are challenging the charges imposed on them by the NPA for drilling within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
The case which was fixed for the plaintiffs to open their case was stalled due to the absence of a witness.Counsel to the plaintiff, Mr Chris Ache, told the trial judge, Justice James Tsoho, that although the matter was ripe for trial, one of the witnesses was in Brazil.
He, therefore, applied for an adjournment to enable him to provide another witness.The defence counsel, Mr Ame Ogie, objected to the adjournment and urged the court to strike out the suit, arguing that the plaintiff had always failed to produce witnesses in court.
Tsoho, however, adjourned the case to April 9 at the instance of the plaintiff.
In their statement of claim, the plaintiffs contended that the NPA had imposed on them charges running into millions of dollars for drilling within the EEZ.They averred that four oil giants — Shell, Mobil, Chevron and Total — had engaged their services to prospect for oil within the EEZ.
The plaintiffs argued that as drilling companies, they took their rigs directly from the location at EEZ because they did not fall within the definition of “cargo” which must be discharged at the conventional ports.
They also argued that since the Minister of Transport did not declare the EEZ as a compulsory pilotage districts they were not under any obligation to pay the pilotage dues.Consequently, the drilling giants filed the suits challenging the NPA’s demands for the charges.
NPA, in its statement of defence, argued that when the oil giants engaged the services of the plaintiffs to drill the oil wells, the plaintiffs took their rigs directly to the EEZ without the necessary permit.
NPA stated that such rigs were usually brought in from abroad but that the drilling companies must obtain temporary import permits to bring in the rigs as cargos before they were moved to the EEZ.
It said this was to prevent the payment of import duties by the drilling companies.
He said this permission was never sort and obtained by the plaintiffs.The defendants also argued that under the provisions of the Customs Act, the rigs should be discharged at regular ports before they were taken to the offshore drilling sites at the EEZ.
According to NPA, an exception arises when the drilling companies obtain waivers to take the rigs directly to the offshore sites and that the plaintiffs did not obtain such waivers.
The defendants, therefore, argued that the drilling companies must pay the dues as stipulated under the Compulsory Pilotage Order of 1996, which declared the EEZ as compulsory pilotage districts.
