Govt has not revised our contracts � Shell, Total

Anglo-Dutch, oil giant, Shell Plc, and French firm, Total SA, said on Wednesday that they had not been contacted about a possible renegotiation of oil contracts in Nigeria
Both companies were reacting to Federal Government�s warnings on Tuesday of sweeping changes in existing oil contracts in terms of joint operating agreements, production sharing contracts and other Memoranda of Understanding.
�We have not officially seen anything from the Nigerian Government, so it is too soon to make a comment,� Shell spokesman in The Hague, Wim van de Wiel, said in a telephone interview with Bloomberg.
Shell is Europe�s largest oil company as well as Nigeria�s biggest oil producer.
Total spokeswoman, Patricia Marie, said government had not contacted the French company about possible changes either.
The Minister of State for Energy (Petroleum), Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, had said on September 24 in New York, that the country would re-examine contracts signed years ago with foreign oil companies.
He said the governor might alter them to give the state a greater share of oil revenues.
Russia, Venezuela and other producer nations have made similar changes over the past two years.
Total noted that the trend these days were for countries to renegotiate existing contracts.
It, however, said, �We hope if this happens in Nigeria, the government will honour its contractual agreements.�
Presidential adviser on Petroleum, Alhaji Rilwanu Lukman, on Wednesday, called for reviews of joint venture oil production agreements and deepwater production sharing contracts with international oil companies.
He added that existing contracts with foreign oil companies had a provision that gave the government the ability to change some terms.
Total, Europe�s third-largest oil company, pumped 242,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day last year in Nigeria, or about 10 per cent of its overall output.
Shell, the largest foreign oil producer in Nigeria, has suffered the most from militant violence in the Niger Delta that forced it to close some joint venture fields.

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