S. Korean state oil firm wins suit against Nigeria over exploration rights

SEOUL, Aug. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's state-run oil firm said Thursday it has
won a lawsuit against Nigeria over oil exploration rights, adding its business in
the African country is expected to go smoothly in the future.

According to the Korea National Oil Corp. (KNOC), a Nigerian court upheld its
suit Thursday against a government decision to cancel its oil exploration
licenses granted in 2005.
In January this year, the Nigerian government revoked the KNOC's offshore oil
exploration licenses, claiming the South Korean company had not fully paid the
investment it has pledged.
The Nigerian government said the KNOC had not paid around US$231 million out of
$323 million in a signing bonus. Instead, it granted exploration rights to the
state-run Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.
In March, the KNOC filed a suit against the Nigerian government, saying the
shortfall was written off in return for the construction of gas pipelines and
other infrastructure.
sam@yna.co.kr