What's New In W. Africa (Nigeria)

[graculus]

I didn't really need to read the thread, I just quoted it - unlike you I was there at NAF Base that day chatting to an old friend who used to fly Twotters for ACN, but is now a Twotter pilot for XOM. He couldn't take off for Bonny because the runway had just been blocked by the Caverscam Twinned Ooter flying under the close supervision of Shell Aircraft (happy now ). I guess not everything makes it to the pages of even the Flight Safety Foundation's excellent Aviation Safety Network. It probably has to be reported first, but as any student of happenings in Nigeria would know, not everything in Nigeria gets reported .

far safer than those old Twin Otter that were inherited

. Where do you get this garbage from Is that something they teach you in Rotterdam? The Twin Otters weren't inherited from anywhere. They were both refurbished at Altenrhein Aviation in Switzerland. Despite what the press spokesperson for Caverscam told Sahara reporters on 21 November 2009

Caverton currently owns 2 twin otters which are contracted to NLNG. Both aircraft comply with Federal Ministry of Aviation and NCAA 21-year age limitation. Both aircraft were vetted by Shell’s overseas auditors

, 5N-BLJ for example is DH c/n 816 and was originally delivered to Ethiopian Airlines as ET AIN on 21 February 1985.

But I'm sure a highly-trained Shell manager like you knows that already right? What do I know, I'm just a Joe who's happy he's never had to work for a company with outstanding standards like Shell. It must be difficult always being perfect and working for a company with such impeccable ethics

‘Shell is currently under investigation by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the United States Department of Justice for violations of the US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,’ the company said in its 2008 annual report.

Lawyers at Haynesboone who specialise in the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act said that companies that violate the act may be required to pay a fine of up to $25 million, or twice the gain obtained from the violation.

‘The company may also be required to disgorge profits obtained from the violation. Additionally, settlement agreements with the government have commonly required companies to maintain, at their own expense, a corporate monitor to supervise the company’s FCPA compliance program and report observations to the government,’ according to a report from the law firm.

It said a violation of the act can also lead to a company’s debarment from future government contracts and a company may have its export license rescinded.

Punch Nigeria

The United States Ambassador to Nigeria, Ms Robin Sanders, has reiterated her country’s willingness to collaborate with the Nigerian government in making information available for the prosecution of Nigerian citizens indicted in the Halliburton bribe saga. Sanders has also assured Nigeria’s Justice Ministry of her country’s support in combating official graft.


The Halliburton scandal broke out in 2004 when a French judge considered evidence to determine whether the former US Vice-President, Mr. Dick Cheney, was culpable under French law for at least one of four bribery payments by a Halliburton subsidiary to Nigerian officials. The bribe was paid over a period of time to obtain contracts for liquefied natural gas projects in Nigeria.


Since the scandal broke, a United States District judge has sentenced two former executives of Wilbross, Jim Bob Brown and Jason Edward Steph, to prison, for offering Nigerian officials a $6 million bribe in order to win a gas pipeline contract, after both of them pleaded guilty to a one-count charge. Under the US anti-graft law, it is an offence for US companies or their agents to offer bribes to win contracts abroad.


The names of the Halliburton bribe takers are already in the public domain. Former Petroleum Resources Minister, Edmund Daukoru, and a former Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Mr. Funsho Kupolokun, were among scores of persons quizzed in the wake of the bribery scandal. Three former Heads of State were also linked with the scandal.

I'll do my best to keep smiling thanks - why not, I don't have all those standards and ethics I have to live up to all the time like all you real bright oil company aviation advisers. At least I still get to fly a lot though