Addax Petroleum to close operations in Geneva

Chinese-owned oil and gas extractor firm Addax Petroleum is shutting its offices in the Swiss city of Geneva as well as in Aberdeen, Scotland and Houston in the United States.

The company on Monday confirmed a report by the Tribune de Genève newspaper, saying its parent firm Sinopec International Petroleum Exploration and Production Corporation (SIPC) would integrate the three offices into a new technical centre in Beijing by the end of this year.

Addax said the rationalisation would improve efficiency and business sustainability, according to a company statement.

It added that it would run a consultation process for its 174 affected staff in Geneva to mitigate the impact of the organisation change.

Bribery charges

The move comes a month after Addax agreed to pay CHF31 million ($31.8 million) to settle charges of suspected bribery of foreign officials in Nigeria.

Swiss prosecutors had investigated the company and charged the chief executive and legal director for paying tens of millions of dollars in illegal payments.

However, the payments could not be sufficiently documented and doubts remained over their legality, but no criminal intent was established.

Addax says it has more than 1,000 employees, and operations In Nigeria, Gabon and Cameroon, as well as joint ventures in Iraqi Kurdistan and the British North Sea.