Former OPEC man behind Malta gas bid

The British-incorporated, West African firm at the heart of Malta's new gas power plant Gasol, has appointed as its chairman the former OPEC secretary-general and Nigerian ex-minister Rilwanu Lukman.

Gasol's partners in the Electrogas consortium include Maltese-owned GEM holdings, which brings together Gasan Group and Tumas Group, the Azerbaijan state oil company SOCAR and German multinational Siemens.

Gasol is a spin-off from Afren, a company co-founded by Lukman in 2004.  Lukman has since stepped down from his post as Afren's non-executive chairman, after being appointed Nigerian petroleum resources minister by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua in 2008.

Afren remains a shareholder in Gasol, which is listed on the British stock exchange.

Lukman's rise in OPEC

Lukman built a business empire of his own in his country while serving in public office and within the ranks of international organizations like OPEC, since the 1980s.

A mining engineer by profession, he rose to the top echelons of the oil industry serving as secretary-general of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) from January 1995 to December 2000 and President of OPEC from March 1985 to December 1989. 

As OPEC chief, Lukman was a key force behind the price defence deal reached by Iran and Saudi Arabia in early 1999. This led to the March agreement between OPEC and four non-OPEC states on oil production cuts which, eventually, helped world crude oil prices to more than double from a record low of $9 a barrel in late 1998.

Lukman controversially served in the brutal military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida as minister of mines, power and steel from 1984 to 1985. In February 1986, he was made petroleum minister and held that post until February 1990.

In  2000 he was appointed by civilian President Olusegun Obasanjo as adviser on energy matters, but he resigned in 2003. In 2004 he founded oil firm Afren. It quickly became Nigeria's largest indigenous oil and gas exploration and production company.

He returned to politics in December 2009 after being appointed minister for petroleum resources by president Umaru Yar'Adua.

Criticism

Lukman's term as minister was controversial, after he came under criticism from residents and leaders in the Niger Delta for his proposal to build a petroleum university in his northern home state of Kaduna.

In July 2009 the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, which demands a fairer share of oil wealth for the inhabitants of the impoverished region, described Lukman as "an ungrateful man" and demanded that Afren leaves the Niger Delta.

Lukman remained a director and major shareholder in at least four companies actively pursuing business in the industry over which he presided as minister, being accused of conflict of interest.

Although a controversial figure in his country, Lukman was made a Knight of the British Empire (KBE) in 1989 and Officer of the Legion d'Honneur of France in 1990, as well as being conferred with the First Class rank of the Order of the Liberator from the Republic of Venezuela.

Gasol's agreement with SOCAR

The Malta deal is considered as a diversification from Gasol's current focus, which is that of developing a plan to supply natural gas (LNG) through Benin into under-supplied West African markets. But it represents a continuation of Afren's collaboration with SOCAR, the oil company owned by the government of Azerbaijan.

In 2011, SOCAR was involved in marketing crude oil from Afren's offshore field in Ebok, Nigeria.

In December 2012 Gasol formed a key strategic alliance with SOCAR to support its LNG importation project to Benin. The alliance involved an investment in Gasol in the form of a convertible loan, and the seconding of a SOCAR executive to the Gasol management team.

SOCAR now provides LNG in Africa through a floating gas terminal, until a gas pipeline is developed to get cheaper gas from the gulf of Guinea.

Gasol's chief operating officer Alan Buxton insists the long-term goal for his company in Africa is to buy gas through a pipeline, because LNG is still more expensive than pipeline gas. "But because we will not be able to supply natural gas from our own reserves until 2017 at the earliest, LNG (supplied by SOCAR) allows Gasol to work with governments in West Africa that are short of gas to develop the gas market," Buxton said in a Q&A on the Gasol website.

"Within the company, we say that LNG is a 'bridge' to the long-term solution which is natural gas from the Gulf of Guinea," Buxton said.

But in Malta's case, according to a press statement issued by Gasol itself last month, SOCAR will be providing a floating gas terminal on a charter basis for 18 years. The Azeri company will also have an exclusive right to supply LNG for the project.

This means that in Malta's case LNG supplied by SOCAR is being viewed as a permanent arrangement, ensuring that it remains in business with Gasol well after its role in Africa expires due to the replacement the floating terminals with a gas pipeline.