Godswill Michael
The Federal High Court sitting in Lagos has ordered court-supervised administration of AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited following a $2,625,429.21 claim brought by CCM Vessel Management Company Limited over unpaid contractual obligations.
The order sighted by Datavox Media, granted pursuant to the insolvency provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020, places AMNI under independent professional management and restricts the powers of its directors, pending the outcome of administration proceedings. The court appointed Mr. Sam Aiboni, Esq. as Administrator/Receiver-Manager to take custody and control of the company’s business and assets.
The CCM Vessel claim relates to outstanding sums allegedly owed for operations and maintenance services connected to FPSO Princess Aweni (formerly Armada Perkasa) deployed at the Okoro Field in Rivers State. According to court filings referenced during proceedings, the debt arose under a contractual arrangement covering offshore production support services.
In granting the application, the court held that the statutory thresholds for administration under CAMA 2020 had been satisfied. The administrator is empowered to assume control of AMNI’s assets, including its Lagos office premises and operational petroleum assets, subject to regulatory and judicial oversight. Among the assets affected is the FPSO Princess Aweni, a key production facility tied to AMNI’s upstream operations.
The ruling marks the second administration order issued against AMNI within a short period. On 13 February 2026, the same court granted a similar order in a separate creditor action initiated by Cenroc FPSO Solutions Nigerian Limited. Both applications were considered independently, reflecting creditor-specific proceedings under Nigeria’s insolvency regime.
Reacting to the development, Aiboni explained that administration proceedings are determined on the basis of materials placed before the court in each case. He noted that the orders illustrate the practical activation of Nigeria’s corporate rescue framework under CAMA 2020, particularly where a company is found, for the purposes of an administration application, to have met prescribed statutory conditions.
The Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020 introduced administration as a formal insolvency mechanism aimed at corporate rescue, asset preservation and creditor protection. Unlike liquidation, which focuses on winding up a company, administration is designed to maintain operations where possible, restructure liabilities, and achieve a better outcome for creditors than immediate dissolution.
Under the framework, the court may appoint an administrator where a company is unable to pay its debts or is likely to become insolvent. Once appointed, the administrator assumes management control, evaluates restructuring options, and may propose a rescue plan, asset sale, or other arrangements consistent with creditor interests.
The twin rulings against AMNI highlight the increasing reliance on statutory administration by creditors in Nigeria’s commercial and upstream oil and gas disputes, particularly in cases involving high-value offshore service contracts denominated in foreign currency.
Industry analysts note that the activation of administration proceedings in rapid succession signals heightened creditor enforcement activity within the petroleum services value chain, where delayed payments and foreign-currency exposures have intensified balance-sheet pressures.
For AMNI, the immediate implication is that its operations and assets are now subject to court-supervised oversight, pending further steps under the administration process.
