API Denies Certification to Opeans Nigeria Limited for BOSIET Training Amid Legal Battle
WARRI/Nigeria: In a startling revelation, the American Petroleum Institute (API) has unequivocally refuted granting any certification or approval to Opeans Nigeria Limited for their Basic Offshore Safety Induction and Emergency Training (BOSIET) program.
This revelation comes amidst a legal battle in the Delta State High Court, marked as HOR/9/2023, involving Opeans Nigeria Limited, API, Veriforce Limited Liability Company, and the Attorney-General of Delta State.
Opeans Nigeria Limited, a training provider with facilities in Port Harcourt and Warri, had earlier laid claim to having received API certification, a declaration that had ignited excitement among the company’s Executive Director, Ben Nwoye, and its stakeholders.
However, API, a prominent standard-setting organization in the oil and gas industry, has set the record straight, asserting that it has not endorsed or approved any training offered by Opeans Nigeria Limited.
API’s legal representation, hailing from Banwo & Ighodalo law firm, has made it explicitly clear that Opeans Nigeria Limited maintains no affiliation with the institute, and the BOSIET certificates issued by the training provider lack API’s official approval or accreditation.
Furthermore, API has vehemently contradicted the claims made by Opeans Nigeria Limited in various newspapers regarding their alleged API certification.
This ongoing lawsuit has also brought to light allegations of Opeans Nigeria Limited’s issuance of fake and forged BOSIET certificates, fraudulently asserting accreditation and approval by both API and Veriforce. Industry experts, speaking on the condition of anonymity, have exposed that Opeans Nigeria Limited’s practice of awarding counterfeit BOSIET certificates is not a recent phenomenon.
In a concerning development, these experts have alleged that regulatory bodies such as the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) may have been complicit in enabling and covering up such fraudulent activities, thereby jeopardizing the safety of personnel within the industry.
The Delta State High Court has duly acknowledged and accepted all pertinent legal documents related to this case, with a ruling on the interlocutory application slated for October 10th, 2023. This legal battle promises to shed further light on the controversy surrounding Opeans Nigeria Limited’s certification claims and its potential implications for the oil and gas sector.
