Eastline Energy Resources Limited, a Nigerian-owned oil and gas servicing firm, has initiated legal proceedings against Conoil Producing Limited, an oil and gas conglomerate owned by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga, for failing to fulfill its debt obligations to the former.

Managing Director of Eastline Energy Resources Limited Obioma Chimechefulem disclosed in a recent statement that Conoil owes his company the sum of $774,789.00 for services rendered on its behalf, for which payment has yet to be made despite repeated requests.

“Eastline is categorically owed the sum of $774,789.00 (Seven Hundred and Seventy-Four Thousand, Seven Hundred and Eighty-Nine US Dollars only) for works carried out on behalf of Conoil & for which payment, even after repeated pleas, has still not been made. We have suffered immeasurably working for Conoil to the point where our equipment was seized by another contractor in order to force Conoil to pay them,” the statement reads.
The company, which has been a contractor of choice to Conoil thanks to its industry-leading skill sets and competence in the areas of surface well testing, brine filtration, well completion, flow back, and early production services, among many others, emphasized that its inability to access high-quality equipment has resulted in significant financial losses.

Right now, it is seeking no more than what it is rightfully owed for services rendered.

The lawsuit follows allegations made against Conoil in March 2022 by a group of local oil contractors, who accused the oil and gas conglomerate owned by Nigerian billionaire Mike Adenuga of defaulting on its debt obligations amounting to millions of dollars.

In separate letters addressed to Ibrahim Gambari, the chief of staff to Nigeria’s president, and Timipre Sylva, the minister of state for petroleum resources, the contractors called for an investigation into what they describe as the “tragic state” of Conoil Producing Limited.

According to the contractors, the board and senior management of Conoil Producing Limited have been involved in various unethical business practices to avoid paying contractors’ fees.