Ireland’s San Leon Energy plc said it has been provided with a copy of correspondence between SunTrust Oil and the Nigerian Department of Petroleum Resources. The company said the correspondence relates to a requirement under Nigerian law for the Minister of Petroleum Resources to consent to any assignment of interests in oil and gas assets in Nigeria and the fact that such consent was not obtained prior to the purchase by the Company of its indirect interest in OML 18. “San Leon obtained legal advice prior to the purchase which confirmed that, owing to the way that the transaction was structured (and specifically the nature of its indirect interest in OML 18), it was not necessary for Eroton to obtain prior consent from the Minister. Furthermore, San Leon and its partners have today re-confirmed with their legal advisers that this position is correct and the DPR will be notified accordingly.” The company concluded in the statement that “As previously announced, the Company remains of the view that the purported allegations by SunTrust are without any foundation or merit. The Company will provide further updates in due course.”
Irish energy company San Leon now has a record of correspondence between Shell Oil and the Nigerian department of petroleum development relating to SunTrust Oil 's claim that San Leon should have obtained the government 's consent for an assignment of its interests in energy assets in 2007 . San Leon said it remained “ of the view that the purported allegations by Shell are without any foundation or merit ” .