Energy Minister Clears The Air On Forged; Miura Petroleum Is A 419 Company

The Minister for Energy and Petroleum Hon Emmanuel Armah-Kofi Buah at a press conference held at the Ministry�s Conference Room, described Miura Petroleum, a local partner of Gondwana Oil Coporation, Canada as a criminal entity seeking to use forged documents to misinform its anxious shareholders. The Minister said his Ministry has never considered with neither Miura Petroleum nor Gondwana Oil Corporation for an oil block. He noted that Miura applied to the Ministry for a particular block for exploration in December, 2013 but was turned down because ten companied have applied for the same block and six have been shortlisted pending further approval by the Ministry of Justice and Attorney General, Ministry of Finance and Cabinet, before final ratification by parliament. Hon Armah-Kofi Buah also explained that what drew the Ministry�s attention to the forged signature was the date on the letter Miura Petroleum presented to the Ministry upon invitation to consider other blocks. �We realized the letter Miura Petroleum presented to the Ministry was dated October, 2013 with my signature whiles we started dealing with them in December, 2013. We were curious about the inconsistency so we informed the Economic and Organized Crime Office (EOCO) who took up the issue and arrested a guy who later confessed to us and is being investigated.� The Energy Minister further stated. He also debunked assertions in section of the media that A-Z, a private oil company has been awarded the same block for exploration because a Deputy Minister in the Ministry is a former employee of the company, explaining that A-Z has not been awarded a block and that their application including that of the other nine applicants are pending Cabinet and Parliamentary ratification. The Minister added that his Deputy Minister has no role at all in the consideration or awarding of block to international oil companies�.