The Nation Newspaper

Category: Energy

  • Hope dims for ex-PHCN workers’entitlements

    About five months after their disengagement, some former Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) workers may still have to wait before they get their entitlements.

    National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) Secretary Joe Ajaero said the delay is caused by the Federal Government.

    He blamed what he called the non-challant attitude of the Federal Government for the development.

    Ajaero said: ‘’We have enough evidence that many of the workers were excluded from the N385billion severance package paid to the workers of PHCN. The possibility of getting the entitlements paid to the workers soon is remote in a corrupt country like Nigeria. We understand that the money has been put in fixed and interest is being collected on it. Based on this, it would be pretty difficult to get the money paid to the affected workers.”

    According to him, the union has been making efforts to ensure payment of the money owed the workers, to no avail

    ‘’We have been pushing for the payment of the money. But it appears that the government is not willing to fulfil all the agreements reached with the workers during privatisation. We see it as a breach of contract, hence our resolve to fight for the welfare of our colleagues. Though we have not given up the struggle, the workers are not sure of getting their money soon.’’ he added.

    Ajaero noted the restiveness the unpaid benefits had caused in the sector, noting that the workers should not be blamed as they have not been paid since last January, when the government reached an agreement with them on the issue.

    The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, convened a meeting on January 13, this year between the government and labour where a fresh agreement was reached.

    The meeting followed the threat by the NUEE to cripple the sector over unpaid benefits to the former PHCN workers and victimisation of union leaders, among other agreements reached with them.

  • Ikeja, Eko DISCOs ‘get only 26 per cent of power’

    The Ikeja and Eko Electricity Distribution Companies (DISCOs) get 15 per cent and 11 per cent from the national grid, their new owners have said.

    Chairman, Sahara Energy Group, Kola Adesina and Chairman, West Power and Gas Limited, Charles Momoh, owners of the two firms, said power supply had become so insignificant that it has worsened the “precarious situation” in Lagos.

    They spoke to The Nation during the Lagos Economic Summit.

    Adesina’s company plans about 230 megawatts (MW). “We want to make available about 230 megawatts (MW) not captured by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) as part of the agenda to stabilise power supply. The two DSICOs in the state receive only 11 per cent and 15 per cent of generated power stock from the national grid,” he said, noting that the poor grid supply has worsened the precarious situation of consumers.

    He also noted that a change of attitude would help in curbing or eliminating pipeline vandalism and other national assets used for power generation, which consequently, would help in achieving improved power supply.

    Lagos, Nigeria’s commercial centre with a population of over 20 million needs about 20,000MW to meet its industrial and domestic power needs.

    The utility chiefs said Ikeja DISCO requires at least 950MW, but gets only 300MW, a deficit of 650MW. Eko DISCO gets only 240MW as against its 750MW requirement.

    Eko DISCO is asking for the submission of bids from independent power generators and has received applications from at least 45 bidders.

    Successful bidders are to supply the shortfall from the grid supply – in an initiative that was part of the agenda to generate over 500MW to meet the needs of consumers within the Eko network.

    A Director in the company, Dr Tunji Olowolafe, said the company would invest N42 billion in power facilities in the next five years to reinforce electricity supply

    A Commissioner in Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Eyo Ekpo, advised the two DISCOs to collaborate with the private sector to boost power supply.

    Ekpo added: “We must build foundation blocks to boost power supply in Lagos. The state has a population of over 20 million. If you look at the scenario, you will discover that 1000MW will meet the power needs of about one million people, multiply that by 20; therefore, Eko and Ikeja Discos have to embark on embedded power supply deal. This is one of the key enablers of achieving the dream of meeting the power demand of residents of Lagos.”

  • OPEC’s oil prices drop in March on economic, demand concerns

    The Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has said the prices of its grades of crude oil (OPEC Reference Basket) fell last month following concerns over China’s economic growth, lower refinery demand and ample availability, which outweighed supply outages and geopolitical tension.

    In its April Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), OPEC said its Reference Basket fell by $1.23 in March to average $104.15 per barrel.

    The report said: “The OPEC Reference Basket (ORB) slipped below the $105/b level in March to around $104/b, as the global crude market lost momentum over the month, impacted by concerns over a slowdown in China’s economic growth, lower demand and ample supply availability, despite ongoing production outages in Libya and geopolitical tension in Ukraine.

    “Crude prices fell in most regions, as northern hemisphere temperatures rose and refineries entered maintenance, while the situation between Russia and the Ukraine did not lead to any immediate energy supply losses. The Brent market reached its lowest outright prices in almost five months, as poor refining margins weighed on light sweet crude in Europe. Medium sour grades were also plentiful, as maintenance at Russian refineries frees up more crude for export.”

    It said ICE Brent declined by one per cent monthly amid extremely weak market fundamentals, despite drawing support from Libyan supply outages and the situation in Ukraine. Nymex WTI also fell, though moderately, remaining above the $100/b mark, steadied by a continued drawdown in oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma.

    On balance of supply and demand, the report noted that demand for OPEC crude in 2014 saw a downward revision of 0.1 million barrel per day (mb/d) to average 29.6 mb/d, representing a decline of 0.4 mb/d compared to last year.

    It said in Asia-Pacific, demand was thin, weighing on Middle East crude values and causing many to lower their official selling price formulae. In the US Gulf Coast (USGC), the sale of sour crude from the US Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) weighed temporarily on sour grades, while the inland sour crude differential to WTI at Cushing widened significantly in the face of limited storage in Midland for rising crude output. Meanwhile, Libya’s exports have been well below the country’s capacity of around 1.25 mb/d since July 2013, it added.

    “On a monthly basis, the ORB dropped to an average of $104.15/b in March, down $1.23, or 1.17 percent, from the previous month. On a year-to-date basis, the ORB was also lower compared with the same period a year ago. The ORB year-to-date value stood at $104.73/b compared with an average of $109.48/b the previous year at the same period. On a quarterly basis, the ORB was $1.69 or 1.6 per cent lower than in the previous quarter,” it added.

    The report also said world oil demand is forecast to grow by 1.14 mb/d in 2014, broadly unchanged from the previous report, to average 91.2 mb/d. In 2013, world oil demand grew by 1.05 mb/d to average 90.01 mb/d, also in line with the prior assessment. The bulk of growth came from non-OECD, as most of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is still showing a contraction.

  • Presidency intervenes in IPMAN leadership crisis

    Presidency intervenes in IPMAN leadership crisis

    •Ex-president accused of contempt as deputy takes over

     • NUPENG reopens NIPCO depot

    Rather than abate, the leadership crisis rocking the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) is deepening. Its president, Alhaji Aminu Abdulkadir, has declined to hand over to Chief Lawson Obasi as directed by Justice Lambo Akanbi of the Federal High Court in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    Instead, Abdulkadir handed over to his deputy Mr Chinedu Okoronkwo.

    Abdulkadir has appealed the judgment while Obasi has initiated contempt proceedings against him for not complying with the verdict.

    Last week, The Nation learnt a stakeholders meeting was summoned by the Managing Director of the Products and Pipeline Marketing Company (PPMC), Prince Haruna Momoh, on the Presidency’s directive to resolve the rift to forestall any future fuel scarcity.

    PPMC it was learnt, urged Abdulkadir to obey the court order to ensure the organisation’s smooth running and prevent disruption of products supply.

    Shortly before the meeting, a bailiff was said to have issued Form 48 (Notice of Contempt of court) on Abdulkadir for allegelly illegally parading himself as IPMAN president against.

    Abdulkadir’s purported refusal to obey the order led the Nigerian Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) to close NIPCO’s depot (the business venture of IPMAN). NUPENG insisted that unless Abdulkadir steps aside, the depot would not be reopened. The depot, which was reopened at the weekend after the intervention of the Presidency, State Security Service (SSS) and the National Assembly, was shut for over 10 days.

    When contacted, the Chief of Staff to Obasi, Chief Chinedu Ukadike, said the Form 48 was to let Abdulkadir know that he is in contempt of court.

    Ukadike explained that Chinedu Okoronkwo is neither qualified to be IPMAN president nor empowered to conduct elections.

    He noted that Okoronkwo has a case pending before a Port Harcourt High Court, adding that IPMAN has a succession rule, which Abdulkadir and his officers violated. Abdulkadir he said became the president from the position of secretary against stipulated guidelines.

    He said Obasi and his executive met during the weekend with all the national officials and he urged members to shun strike to ensure steady fuel supply nationwide.

    The Nation also gathered that 70 per cent of the executive members of the Aminu-led IPMAN are in discussion with the new leadership on how to share executive positions harmoniously.

    But, Okoronkwo dismissed Ukadike’s claim as baseless. Okoronkwo insisted that he is IPMAN President, adding that Ukadike was wrong because Abdulkadir has appealed the judgment.

    He said Obasi and his group should wait for the outcome of the appeal, adding: “It is a simple matter. The case is still subsisting in court. The problem of IPMAN will only be solved by IPMAN and not the court. Abdulkadir has appealed the judgment and Obasi should wait for the judgment of the Appeal Court, I am working with my executives to ensure that normalcy returns as soon as possible,” he said

    Obasi was the Vice President of Alhaji Musa Felande who took over from Olatunde Runsewe following the expiration of his (Runsewe) tenure. But, instead of Obasi being made the president in line with IPMAN’s constitution, Abdulkadir was made president from his position as secretary.

  • SON: consumers no longer to own cylinders

    SON: consumers no longer to own cylinders

    •New gas policy for approval today

    The Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) has introduced a policy to guarantee safer use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). It is also to monitor the ownership of cylinders to ensure standards.

    SON Director-General, Dr. Joseph Odumodu, said in Lagos that the new policy, which comes into operation in June, would address other issues in the value chain, including the gas, valves and other accessories. He said it had become imperative for the regulator to ensure strict compliance with industry standards by players to promote safety.

    He said the gas explosion in Abuja called for immediate implementation of the policy, noting that some cylinders that had expired are still in use because most people do not bother to check them. Odumodu said: “With the new policy, individuals will not own cylinders. Marketers and dealers will own cylinders and each marketer, or dealer will have specific code. Individuals will take their cylinders, pay a token as deposit and get the new certified and quality one and when a consumer wants to change to another dealer, or marketer, the person would collect his deposit and move to where he likes.

    The importance of this, Odumodu explained, is to enable SON trace source of any problem whenever there is one, and to hold somebody responsible. The marketers licensed by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) will own cylinders and each marketer’s cylinder will have a different colour and code to enable traceability when there is an issue.

    He said: “The recent explosion in Abuja was caused by a filling tank. Apparently, the filling tank was located in a place where there was not enough care taken to ensure that fire and inflammable materials were kept away from the gas. That informed the need for us to begin the process of introducing a new policy for LPG use in Nigeria.

    “The new system that we just introduced will enable us to have a better control of LPG cylinder and not just about the cylinder but also in the whole value chain including the gas, valves and other accessories. It is a whole gamut of activities that we are reviewing in name of a new policy of use of LPG in Nigeria.

    He said the Council of SON would be considering a new standard for LPG today. The gas that goes into LPG is a mixture of propane and butane and one of them is highly flammable and Nigeria has been operating a 70:30 per cent butane, propane policy. But it appears also that some people outside of Nigeria are beginning to introduce some other kind of combination, which we have already discussed through a technical committee

    “The SON council will now consider the final report of the recommendations and hopefully on that day approve it. Once it is approved, we will go ahead and enforce a new standard. Last year there were issues around certain kinds of cooking gases in circulation in Nigeria, which necessitated a meeting of all the industry players including the NNPC, marketers, consumers, SON, DPR and others meant for the stakeholders to agree on a new standard taking into consideration what obtains in other parts of the world.”

    “In the new system, individuals will no longer own cylinders. The cylinders will be owned by marketers who already have been licensed by DPR. The cylinders will be differentiated in colours and will have different codes. The reason for this is that we need to hold somebody responsible any time there is a challenge. The marketers will have the responsibility for recertification or what we call technical requalification of cylinders. For instance, if a consumer has a cylinder that has expired, when he takes the cylinder for refilling, the marketer will take it through a process of requalification, if it fails, the marketer will withdraw the cylinder, and give the customer a new one. The customer has to make a token deposit,” he added.

  • Bonga project’ll enhance exploration, say oil chiefs

    Exploration will be enhanced, if Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) fulfils its promise to get Bonga South West Project ready this year, stakeholders have said.

    The Chief Executive officer, ARCON Petroleum Limited, Doyin Adeyinka, the Marketing Director, Olive Crest Resources Service Limited, Dr Alex Orewa, and Vice President, Nigeria-Gabon Shell Upstream International, Markus Droll, said the project would provide opportunities to the industry and the economy.

    Adeyinka described the Bonga South West Project as a world-class facility, capable of boosting exploration. He said the project is an extension of Shell’s exploration activities, adding that completing it this year would help in increasing deep offshore programmes.

    He said: ‘’Though I do not know the quality of the project, it is bound to galvanise exploration and production initiatives in the industry in general, and the economy in particular. Bonga project itself is a big one, and can be extended to any area provided there is oil there to improve activities at the deep-side level of petroleum exploration. ‘’

    Orewa said the International Oil Companies (IOCs) are still interested in investing in Nigeria, as evident by the decision of Shell to expand its Bonga oil project.

    IOCs, Orewa said, were only divesting from on-shore projects and not deep off-shore activities where they hope to maximally improve their fortunes.

    He said: “By completing Bonga Southwest Project by 2014 end, Shell would have more access to export its product. This would depend on whether the product is for export, or not. This is a demonstration of the fact that Shell wants to continue to invest in Nigeria, despite the challenges facing the industry.

    ‘’ The oil majors are not yet done with Nigeria in terms of exploring investmentopportunities, galvanising them to expand the production base and other indices that would spur growth. They want the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) to be passed to know the next line of action. PIB will help them in knowing the rules of the game and how best they can apply the rules for growth. Through BIP, the foreign-owned oil firms would know what and how to meet the needs of the oil producing communities and other issues.’’

    Droll said the company will continue drilling projects on the Original Bonga FPSO, adding that Bonga South West Project is a new addition. Droll said the initiative would generate returns for the partners and the government in the long run.

    He said the Bonga initiative is of immense value to the company, industry and the country, arguing the firm ‘s desire to contribute to oil exploration in countries where it has major presence.

  • Anxiety as electricity workers’ probation ends today

    Anxiety as electricity workers’ probation ends today

    There is anxiety over the fate of electricity workers as their probation under a new management expires today. The workers are worried because they do not know what will be their fate.

    Their fears are fuelled by the fact that the power firms may sack more workers in order to reposition themselves for optimal growth. The Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), last November, sacked 65 per cent of the 48,000 workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) in line with the provisions of the reforms.

    Those retained were put on probation from November last year to this month. This is part of the process aimed at facilitating transition from the state-owned electricity company to privately-driven institutions.

    A visit to the Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company (IKEDC) and Eko Electricity Distribution Company, showed that the workers are concerned on what their fate may be at the end of the probation. While many are afraid of retrenchment, others are adopting a wait- and- see attitude oblivious of the implication of the probation.

    An official at IKEDC, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the fate of his colleagues is unknown yet, considering the slow pace of development in the sector. He said there was apprehension among the workers, having escaped the earlier sack by the BPE, adding that intense lobbying is going on among the workers to save their jobs as nobody is sure of what would happen at the expiration of the probation.

    ‘’We all know what it means to put workers on probation. Everybody is trying to save his, or her job. The managements of the power distribution companies (DISCOs) and generation companies (GENCOs) have been holding crucial meetings in the past few weeks and are reviewing the performances of the companies since they took over the assets of PHCN six months ago. The meetings’ agenda include, restructuring the workforce to see where there are loopholes, sack the unproductive workers and employ new ones. This has reinforced our conviction that the power companies would still sack more workers,” the official said.

    The Principal Manager, Corporate Affairs, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Company, Akinsola Ayeni, said workers were concerned about the outcome as the probation expires today, raising hopes that the managements of the power firms were not likely going to retrench workers after the probation.

    He said: “I don’t think the DISCOs would sack more workers after the probation. Though there are fears in the industry, the possibility of retrenching workers is not there as there are many issues competing for the attention of the new power firms.’’

    The National Secretary, National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), Joe Ajaero, said the industry is struggling to survive, adding that any attempt to sack more workers would defeat the objectives of the privatisation programme.

    He said the goal of the privatisation is to restore confidence in the sector by improving power and further revive the economy, arguing that those objectives are far from being realised.

    He said the industry is under-staffed because a large percentage of the workforce has been thrown into the labour market, adding that the shortage of manpower is inimical to the realisation of the goals of privatisation.

    ‘’Already, the workers are stressed up. They are being overworked daily. The capacity- utilisation is low because one person does the job of three people. So, if more workers are sacked, that means one person would do the jobs of five, or six people. That would lead to low productivity, which is not good for an industry that is just coming back to life. This action is not in line with the developmental objective of Nigeria which is targeting socio-economic growth.

    “There would be no electricity, if more workers are retrenched. The reason is because there would be nobody to work in generation, transmission and distribution aspects of the sector.’’ he added.

    Also, NUEE’s President, Mansur Musa, said the interest of the workers is paramount to the body, stressing that the body would frown at any attempt to jeopardise the welfare of the electricity workers.

  • ‘Planned LNG projects to generate $15b’

    ‘Planned LNG projects to generate $15b’

    The three Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) projects – Brass, Olokola and NLNG train 7 – which are yet to begin operation, have combined capacity to generate $15 billion yearly for Nigeria and increase the government’s revenue by $5 billion, Managing Director/CEhief Executive Officer, Nigeria LNG Limited, Mr. Babs Omotowa has said.

    Omotowa, who spoke on the need for government to expedite action in bringing on-stream these projects, lamented the delay in their take off. Nigeria, he said, produces eight per cent of proven global natural gas and has the capacity to increase it to 15 per cent if the three projects can become operational.

    He said the Brass LNG, which has capacity for 10 metric tonnes per annum (MTPA) has been delayed for four years, Olokola LNG located between Ogun and Ondo States with 12.8mtpa production capacity, has been down for three years and NLNG train Seven, with 8mt/a production capacity, has been delayed for five years. If the three plants become operational, they would have a combined production capacity of 30mtpa.

    Omotowa criticised the delay in view of the economic disadvantages following new NLNG plants springing up in some parts of the world, that are expected to join in the competition for markets and the increasing output from shale gas from world’s top gas consuming countries, such as the United States and China. The implication, he explained, is that the two countries are gradually turning from being net consumers to net producers, and eventually net exporters.

    He said to maximise value from its gas resources, government should optimise exploitation of its abundant gas reserves estimated at 187 trillion cubic feet for the benefit of the citizenry. He said fast-tracking the building of the three gas projects will not only free generate resources to develop the economy, it would also checkmate the eventual competition from other global gas suppliers.

    He said: “With 22mtpa, NLNG generates $12 billion per year. With additional 30mtpa, Nigeria could generate additional $15 billion revenue annually to the Federal Government’s coffers, as well as generation of 50,000 construction jobs from the three projects.

    He explained that as a result of shale gas LNG, importers are now self-sufficient, becoming exporters and in competition with Nigeria. For instance, United States and Canada have approved six LNG projects worth 25 per cent of current global demand. Proven shale gas reserves are 7,299 trillion cubic feet,” he added.

    Omotowa said in the global energy mix, gas is the world’s fastest-growing energy. Gas, he said, will outstrip coal and be number two by 2035, while LNG will grow from 2.5 per cent to four per cent by 2035. He said global LNG demand will by 2030, double the 2012 level of 238 million metric tonnes, which largely will be dominated by the Asian countries of India, China Japan, South Korea and Taiwan.

    He noted that though Nigeria has one of the highest gas reserves, ranking ninth, with Russia, Iran and Qatar topping the list, its consumption and export ranks lowest among its peers.

  • ‘NNPC to fix vandalised pipelines soon’

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) is making efforts to fix vandalised pipelines, including the Forcados supply lines in the next few months to boost gas supply for improved electricity supply, the Group Executive Director, Gas and Power, Dr. David Ige, has said.

    He told The Nation that the corporation is struggling with gas supply outages caused by vandals, but assured that NNPC is making efforts to fix the pipelines in the next couple of months.

    Asked on the continued complaints about gas supply shortages and what the Corporation is doing to find lasting solution to the situation, he said NNPC is building more gas pipelines, but unfortunately these efforts are not seen by Nigerians because no sooner than NNPC completes repairs of one pipeline than the vandals destroy another. This makes NNPC to be repairing one vandalised pipe or the other at any point in time, Ige explained.

    He said: “But we are having serious short-time challenge and there are two things responsible for that. One, mostly arises from acts of vandalism, so at any point in time, we are repairing one pipeline or the other. Last year, Escravos-Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) was down for seven months. Now ELPS is back, Trans Forcados is down. At every point in time, we have been experiencing one major outage or the other.

    “Really the problem now is a short-term stabilisation problem. We haven’t built supply to the full capacity of demand for the gas, but we have always known that gap would be there until the next couple of months, we are going up in supply and consumption is also going up. There is a gap, but we are closing the gap over the next couple of months.

    “That has always been in our plan, but our biggest challenge is that the supply has not been substantially noticeable because at any point in time, we are struggling with unplanned outages. We have never put as much pipelines as we are putting it right now and the supply is being developed as well. Hopefully, we will get to a point where we will overcome this very short-term issue and people can see the benefits. A lot is going under that will make that happen,” he said.

    On whether the Joint Task Force (JTF) hired to monitor and secure the pipelines is not doing its job effectively in view of the increasing number of vandalism, Ige said: “Everybody is doing his job, but it is a very difficult problem to deal with and ultimately you need a social reengineering. These pipelines are hundreds of kilometres long and it is impossible to man every kilometre 24/7. Really, we need to get to the people who are doing this to change their attitude.

    “Social reengineering will contribute significantly to solving the problem because people need to know that there cannot be a sustainable solution in their attacking national infrastructure, it doesn’t solve their problem. There has to be a better way of agitation. For those who break crude oil pipeline for theft, we really have to reorient them because we can put as much security but we have got over 5000 kilometres of pipeline, how many security people will we put on every kilometer?” Ige queried.

  • Experts seek firms’, communities’ partnership to check pipeline vandalism

    Experts seek firms’, communities’ partnership to check pipeline vandalism

    To reduce youth restiveness and attacks on crude oil installations, stakeholders have advocated a synergy between the oil producing firms and their host communities on how to create employment.

    The stakeholders, who spoke to The Nation in Abuja, include the Head, Re-integration Department, Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Lawrence Pepple, the Acting Group General Manager National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), Fidel Pepple, the General Manager, Nigerian Content Development, Shell Petroleum, Igo Weli and Vice President, Development, Delta Afrik Engineering Limited, Tunde Elesin.

    Pepple urged oil operators and the host communities to create sustainable employment opportunities for youths to check pipeline vandalism, stressing that the government alone cannot provide everything for the populace.

    He advised the host communities and local and foreign oil producers to form a synergy to help youths.

    On amnesty programmes, Pepple said the government has helped in developing the skills of militants, and urged the communities and the oil firms to assist youths to prevent them from becoming security risks.

    He said: “Creation and sustainability of empowerment opportunities between the host communities and oil and gas operators would help in preventing pipeline vandalism, crude oil theft and other untoward developments affecting the industry.

    In order not to go back to where we are coming from, such as incessant attacks on oil installations, the youths need to channel their energy to better and productive use.’’

    Weli said opportunities should be created for the contractors in the host communities to improve their fortune and that of the oil exploration and production services’ firms.

    He said Shell signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with contractors to enable them to supply vessels for the company. Shell, he said, holds meetings with contractors in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State to engage them more in productive activities.

    “We established a fund for the host communities to enable them access money for operations. The fund has prevented the host communities from approaching the banks for credit. We went to Bonny and set up vocational centres for the youths. We have helped in getting $1billion from banks to assist contractors in the communities. Over $700million has been disbursed. Based on this, the communities and the oil firms are working to build the future of one another.’’

    Elesin said mutual trust between the oil companies and the host communities would help in growing the industry.

    He urged the two groups to work together to create opportunities in the area of youth empowerment. The communities, he said, could come up with skills acquisition programmes, and further solicit supports from the government.