The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oil

  • Centre, others seek accountability in oil industry

    The Centre for Niger Delta Studies (CNDS), Niger Delta University (NDU) and other stakeholders have called for the strengthening of transparency and accountability in the oil sector.

    At a roundtable for Natural Resource Governance in Nigeria held recently by the centre in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, stakeholders lamented the appalling state of the sector especially lack of transparency in the award of Oil Mining Licences (OML).

    In a keynote address, the National Coordinator, National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spill in the Niger Delta (NACGOND), Dr. Edward Obi, said the country was in a period of both great expectations and disappointment.

    Obi said he was disappointed to discover that the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), a body established by the Act of Parliament to ensure accountability in the revenue receipts, had no documents in its websites.

    “There were no documents to be accessed; no reports of any kind to inform and educate the general public on proceeds of the oil industry.

    “We are, therefore, left simply to conjecture what quantity of oil  we actually produce and export daily, how much we get for it, and how much of that income goes into the public treasury, and is used for the improvement of infrastructure and the welfare of citizens.

    “All conjecture, in the face of numerous indictments of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and its subsidiaries for large scale graft and serving as a conduit for siphoning the nations oil wealth into private hands, this is appalling. This is indeed a time of great disappointment”.

    Obi said that natural resources were creating political, social and economic tension because some areas were more endowed than others.

    “Closely related to the matter of ownership is the clamour for transparency, among others, in the award of oil Mining Leases (OMLs), production sharing contract (PSCs), Joint Venture (JV) benefit and burdens.

    “It is also on record that this state, Bayelsa, has suffered, and still suffers some of the  wrost environmental abuses imaginable. If there are better ways of conducting the oil and gas business without destroying the live of local residents, and  we know there are, why are these methods and technologies not being deployed here?” He said.

    In his speech, Prof, Fidelis Allen of the University of Port Harcourt, said the country had so far enacted 25 laws for the protection of the environment in the sector but regretted that the development had not improved accountability in the sector.

    But he said: “Nigeria needs an active civil society to ensure accountable and transparent governance in a troubled oil industry”.

    In his remarks, Prof. Ibaba Ibaba, a former Coordinator, CNDS, said corruption remained the most challenging issue in the oil sector.

  • Global oil supply dips by 41000 bpd in April

    Global oil supply fell by 41,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April, the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said in this month’s oil market report.

    The organisation said world oil supply fell by 0.41 million barrels per day (mbpd) in April to average 95.81 mbpd. However, global oil production was 831,000 barrels daily higher than a year ago and increased by 363,000 barrels per day in the first quarter of the year, it added.

    The report said: “Non-OPEC oil supply in 2016 was revised down by 18,000 barrels per day due to a downward revision of Russian oil supply in fourth quarter of 2016 to average 57.30 million barrels per day – indicating a year-on-year decline of 0.71 million barrels per day.

    “In contrast, oil supply in 2017 was revised up by 0.36 million barrels per day to average 58.25 million barrels per day – representing year-on-year growth of 0.95 million barrels per day, following changes in all quarters, mostly in the US, based on US actual production data from February and new forecasts for crude oil output.

    “In 2017, US growth forecast was revised up again, rising by 0.28 million barrels per day to average 0.82 million barrels per day. Similarly, but to a lesser extent, Canada, Brazil and Kazakhstan were revised up, while the growth forecasts for Mexico, China, Azerbaijan, Indonesia, Oman and Colombia were in decline.’’

    It continued: “OPEC natural gas liquids (NGLs) and non-conventional oil production in 2016 was revised down by 34,000 barrels per day to average 6.05 million barrels per day, and indicates a growth of 0.11 million barrels per day year-on-year, while for 2017, the growth forecast was revised up by 40,000 barrels per day to 0.17 million barrels per day to average 6.22 million barrel per day.

    “In April, OPEC production decreased by 18,000 bpd, according to secondary sources, to average 31.73 mbpd. Non-OPEC oil supply in 2016 is estimated to have averaged 57.30 mbpd, representing a decline of 0.71 mbpd over the previous year, and a downward revision of 0.02 mbpd from the last assessment.

    ‘’Within the quarters, non-OPEC oil supply encountered historical downward revisions in fourth of 2016 by 72,000 bpd, only in Russia. Non-OPEC supply in 2016 saw strong declines in  Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Americas (0.47 mbpd), China (0.31 mbpd), and developing countries (0.10 mbpd.’’

    It added that preliminary March and last month’s data based on weekly figures shew a return to an upward trend with industrial, road transportation fuels, notably distillates and motor gasoline, accounting for the bulk of these increases.

  • Italian court intervenes in Bayelsa community’s,oil giant’s dispute

    Italian court intervenes in Bayelsa community’s,oil giant’s dispute

    Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Friends of the Earth Europe have teamed up with a Bayelsa State community, Ikebiri, to drag oil giant ENI before a court in in Milan, Italy, over the pollution of their environment, writes PRECIOUS DIKEWOHA.

    ‘It is frustrating to learn that AGIP accepts responsibility for the Spill but without liability to clean up and pay adequate compensation. The tactics of underestimating spills to reduce damage has been challenged by this historic court case’

    Ikebiri is a community in Bayelsa State. It is made up of several villages. Its main economic activities include palm-wine tapping, canoe carving, fishing, farming, animal trapping and traditional medical practices.

    Its story took a sad turn on April 5, 2010. No thanks to the bursting of an oil pipeline operated by oil giant ENI’s Nigerian operation, the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC). It burst 250 metres from a creek north of Ikebiri. The spill affected the creek, fishing ponds and trees essential to the local community. It badly damaged the livelihoods of the community.

    Six days after the spill, a joint inspection visit led by NAOC cited “equipment failure” as the cause of the spill.

    The oil giant operates seven wells and eight pipe lines with several flow lines in the area. The leak was closed, and the surrounding polluted area of bush was burnt without the consent of the community. This was a process far below international standard.

    The community approached NAOC/ENI for emergency relief materials and compensation. On April 5, the oil giant released N2 million to the community and on April 18, it added €10,034 for relief materials. As compensation, it offered N4.5 million, which was rejected by the community. The community wants N31.5 million.

    A resident, Emilia Matthew, said: “I am sick and we don’t know what to resort to when experiencing illness. Fishing, which has been our means of livelihood, is now threatened; it is no longer productive due to the river being polluted by oil spills. The fish in our fish ponds in the swamps/bush too have all been killed by crude oil. So, we have lost our fish ponds. The vegetables we plant within the community, some of which are medicinal and we use in treating ourselves are also affected by crude oil.”

    Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Executive Director Nigeria Dr. Godwin Uyi Ojo, at news conference on Tuesday in Lagos, said: “It took six days for NAOC to agree to a joint inspection visit where it was concluded that “equipment failure” caused the spill. NAOC operates seven wells and eight pipelines with several flow lines in the area of Ikebiri. You will be shocked to know that after that visit the leak was closed but the surrounding polluted area of bush was set ablaze in a state of the art clean up technology often deployed by AGIP and without the consent of the local community. No other clean-up has taken place since.

    “It is frustrating to learn that AGIP accepts responsibility for the Spill but without liability to clean up and pay adequate compensation. The tactics of underestimating spills to reduce damage has been challenged by this historic court case. Though NAOC claimed the polluted area is 9 hectares and an estimated 50 barrels of oil leaked, we know from chemical analysis that the polluted area is much wider. It is at least 17.6 hectares wide, while evidence of pollution has also been found by soil sample analysis 2km downstream from the spill site.”

    Ojo added: “The monumental hurdles and the challenges of access to justice on the way of community people includes lack of access to information, high costs of legal cases, sleeping on your rights which limits period of initiating a case, and the cumbersome nature of oil spill cases against transnational companies that could take a lifetime. These impediments on the way of local people to seek access to environmental justice persists hence this court case to serve as deterrent. In the Niger Delta, there are potentially over 1000 cases against oil companies arising from negligence and nuisance from their oil operations. In the case of Ikebiri, AGIP/ENI is considering as cleaned up a land that is still heavily polluted, and offering a paltry sum as compensation to externalise productions costs. The community has lived with this heart retching situation ever since.  Their plight is now the same with other communities of the Niger Delta that live with the impacts of continuous oil spills on their environment, health and livelihoods.

    “As mentioned last week when the case was instituted, the spill could have been managed and stopped from spreading to a huge expanse of the Ikebiri swampland but the nonchalant attitude of the ENI/NAOC created the current mess.”

    Friends of the Earth Europe and the Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria are supporting the community’s court case against ENI.

    In the case against AGIP/ENI filed in Milan, Italy, on May 4, the plaintiffs are seeking the clean-up of their community and compensation for the pollution. The King of Ikebiri is the plaintiff, and the lawyers representing them are Luca Saltalamacchia with Chima Williams of ERA/FoE Nigeria.

    Ojo explained that “we feel this case should set the stage for others equally impacted by ENI’s operations to take their destinies in their hands and to provide deterrents to Agip/ENI and other oil companies.”

    He gave recent cases as:  Azuzuama, which happened on July 9, 2015 in which 14 persons were burnt beyond recognition along NAOC’s Tebidabe-Clough Creek pipeline, Etieama community in Nembe Local Government Area and Ayamabele/Kalaba community environment, in Okordia clan, Yenagoa, Bayelsa.

    The ERA boss went on: “This is an unprecedented case in Italy, and its success has been a product of 4 years of painstaking research and documentation and the patience of the Ikebiri people suffering this ordeal this past seven years.  We hope that this case will be successful being the first instance of an Italian company having to face justice in Italy for its actions in destroying the environment overseas. It will help end the impunity and offer hope to other communities that have suffered damages as a result of pollution from oil wells or pipelines operated by Agip/ENI or any other multinational firm operating in the Niger Delta and elsewhere.”

     

  • JV cash call debt stagnates oil reserves’ growth, says NAPE

    JV cash call debt stagnates oil reserves’ growth, says NAPE

    The Nigerian Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) has blamed the shortfall in Joint Venture (JV) funding for the stagnation of Nigeria’s oil reserves at 37 billion barrels for over 10 years.

    Its President and the Chief Executive Officer, Degeconek Nigeria Limited, an oil and gas consultancy firm, Mr. Abiodun Adesanya, spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the 10th Annual sub-Saharan Africa Oil and Gas Conference in Houston, Texas, United States (U.S.).

    He lamented that the shortfall in JV counterpart funding from the Federal Government, put at $7 billion as at last year, had grave impact on exploration, adding that as a result of lack of exploration, there was no additional reserves increase.

    He regretted that the budget earmarked for exploration activities as a result of the shortfall in JV funding had dwindled over the years leading to low discoveries and drilling of new wells.

    He said: “If you don’t spend money, you don’t get anything back. It is risky, which is why when the issues of budget cut comes up, the most hit is exploration because of the associated risks. But since the present administration came up with a formula to work on JV funding, we are beginning to see interest in exploration. Don’t forget that apart from the problem of funding, the issue of security in the Niger Delta in the last 15 years has been a major challenge.”

    The NAPE chief noted that reserves had not been static but rather a plus and minus issue.

    “As you produce, you deplete reserves. As you promote certain contingents into reserves, you increase the reserves. So, what has happened is that it is better to be flat than go down. I guess the strategy is to keep it flat if we cannot make it to go up; that is why you are seeing 37 billion barrels when production is ongoing. Depletion is going on and replenishment is going on simultaneously as well. And when you have that kind of scenario, the figure could go up or down,’’ he explained.

    He assured that the 40 billion barrels of reserves targeted by the Federal Government by 2020 was achievable because the country has been able to identify where the resources to achieve the target are. He added that there were quite a number of fields that have been discovered but not yet certified by the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) into being called reserves.

    He said a formula had been found to address that challenge and it seemed to be working because the country had witnessed a reduction in the vandalism of oil production infrastructure, and that again had increased the confidence of the operators to step out.

    He advised the Federal Government to make provisions for incentives for prospective investors willing to explore hydrocarbon in frontier basins to further boost the reserves. According to him,  such incentives have become necessary in view of the government’s intention to increase oil reserves to 40 billion barrels by 2020.

    Adesanya said a frontier basin is one where exploration activities have not been carried out or a basin with short-term exploration activities and a significant volume categorised as undiscovered. Such basins are Chad, Anambra, Bida, Dahomey, Gongola/Yola and the Sokoto, as well as the Middle/Lower Benue Trough.

    According to him, the government should provide incentives such as pioneer status to investors willing to explore in the cretaceous frontier basins because they are high-risk areas unlike the prolific tertiary basins such as the Niger Delta.

  • Oil slips below $52 on U.S. drilling

    Oil slips below $52 on U.S. drilling

    Oil edged below $52 a barrel yesterday as rising crude output and drilling in the United States (U.S.) countered the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)-led production cuts aimed at clearing a supply glut.

    Global benchmark Brent crude for July was down 50 cents at $51.55 a barrel. U.S. crude for June was down 44 cents at $48.89 a barrel.

    U.S. drillers added nine oil rigs in the week to April 28, bringing the count to the most since April 2015, energy services company Baker Hughes said at the weekend. Crude output in the U.S. has hit its highest since August 2015, government data shows.

  • Ijaw groups, elders warn against resuming violence in Niger Delta

    Ijaw groups, elders warn against resuming violence in Niger Delta

    Prominent Ijaw groups and elders have asked youths in the Niger Delta to forget any plan to resume hostilities in the Niger Delta region.

    The leaders insisted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration had shown some positive signs and must be allowed to implement its vision to develop the region.

    The Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide and the Ijaw National Congress (INC) said instead of resorting to violence, the region had opened a new chapter of constructively engaging the government to ensure it fulfilled all its promises.

    Speaking in separate interviews, the IYC President, Mr. Eric Omare, said since President Buhari had made promises, the best the region could do was to impress it upon his administration to fulfill them.

    He said: “I do not think that it has got to that level where people will resort to threatening to bomb oil facilities again. Government made promises but our duty for now is to remind government of its promises towards the region and insist that government should fulfill its promises.

    “But to threaten attack or resort to a militant approach to force government fulfill its promises, l don’t think is the best approach for now. We have never encouraged militant dimension or use of force in our agitation. We advise those that threatened violence to adopt peaceful means”.

    Also, the Chairman, INC, Central Zone, Chief Kennedy Odiowei, asked the youths to remain calm insisting that Buhari with his track record of integrity, would fulfill his promises to the region.

    He said: “We are not in support of violence because the Federal Government is talking to the region. The Vice-President came and toured the Niger Delta. They have seen the plight of the region and the people.

    “The government is very proactive to look into the issues of the Niger Delta so we are not in support of any threat to renew attacks. We are saying that everybody should keep calm and drop their arms”.

    “The Vice-President made some serious policy statements including asking all the oil companies to relocate their headquarters to the Niger Delta region. It is a welcome development. So let us wait and see what the government could do”.

    But the immediate past President of IYC, Mr. Udengs Eradiri, observed that the tempo which Vice-President Yemi Osibanjo pursued negotiation with the region dropped immediately Buhari returned from his overseas trip.

    He, however, said it should not be an excuse for anybody to contemplate resuming attacks on oil installations adding that he had been talking to aggrieved youths to forget the idea.

    He said: “I have been traveling up and down trying to talk to the boys because since the President came back from his travel, everything seems to have nosedived. The tempo with which the vice-president was going was commendable by everybody.”

    “The vice-president was using the right words and talking as a leader. But since the President came back, it has been difficult to continue the momentum and keep up the tempo. Nigeria needs peace.

    “We are not expecting Buhari to solve the Niger Delta problems totally because it didn’t start from his time. We are looking forward to the plans that the Vice-President had put in place. It is very commendable.

    “He talked about putting the illegal bunkerers together to form cooperatives so that their activities can be incorporated into government. He talked about modular refineries, the maritime university and a whole lot of issues that were raised”.

  • ‘Oil subsidy scammers nurturing vandalism, militancy, crude oil theft’

    The oil subsidy scammers, who benefitted immensely from fake importation of petroleum products are nurturing vandalism,  militancy, crude oil theft and the unwarranted disruptions in the sector, to the level being witnessed, especially in the Niger Delta.

    The disclosure was made yesterday in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital, by the Convener of the Second Edition of the Save Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry (SNOAGI) Roundtable, Dr. Brown Ogbeifun.

    The roundtable was organised by the African Initiative for Transparency, Accountability and Responsible Leadership (AFRITAL).

    Project SNOAGI was launched last year, as a veritable platform for bringing stakeholders together to interact, brainstorm and make prescriptions on how to improve the efficiency of the oil and gas operations, thereby assisting government in bringing sanity to the sector.

    Ogbeifun said: “Most of the motherless US Dollars,  British Pounds, Euro and Naira found in wardrobes, farms and soak-away pits are definitely primary or secondary products of mismanaged oil funds, which might explain why the oil industry has witnessed gross underdevelopment.

    “The revelations emanating from the Malabu oil deal, the brazen cash withdrawals from oil money accounts to pursue non-value addition to the good of our hydrocarbon development are indeed very sad.

    “There is no doubt that there has been lack of investors’ confidence in the oil industry, as policies and laws that would have protected their investments are not seriously addressed.

    “The issues of over regulation through multiple regulatory agencies, multiple taxation, global and local oil politics have made it an intractable possibility for Nigeria to reach it’s optimum productivity.”

    The convener also stated that Nigeria was ripe enough to be self sufficient in producing all the necessary derivatives from crude oil.

    Ogbeifun noted that compounding the parlous state of the oil and gas sector came the sabotaging of the pipelines by the militants, which he insisted almost crippled operations in the sector.

    He said: “Paradoxically, we export our crude oil and create refining capacities for other economies, at the detriment of the Nigerian state. Why must we continue to export our mineral resources in exchange for finished products in the oil and gas industry?

    “Our leaders have consistently displayed lack of political will to drive the transformation imperatives to a logical conclusion. That is why we are still talking of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), 17 years after it started its journey.

    “No country treats its critical reforms the way we do. Not passing the PIB has led to losses in trillions of naira, loss of investment opportunities, inability to realise our optimum capacity utilisation and the inability to end gas flaring, which was to have ended in 2008.

    “The PIB might not be a perfect document, just as it is all over the world. All we need is an enduring dialogue process and the will of steel by government to drive the process to its logical conclusion. No matter the drawbacks, the PIB contains many sections that would have greatly enhanced the hydrocarbon potential of Nigeria.”

    The convener also stated that mediation was very effective in the resolution of knotty conflicts, while pleading that the ongoing dialogue process between top officials of the Federal Government and Niger Delta militants/leaders should be sustained.

    He noted that while government was seeking solutions to all the challenges in the Niger Delta, all parties should sheathe their swords,  show good faith and respect for one another, declaring that no meaningful development would take place in an atmosphere of chaos and anarchy.

    Ogbeifun added that the pronouncements of the Federal Government’s top officials on the setting up of modular refineries in the Niger Delta and the open confession that the crude oil and gas-rich region deserved a better deal, showed that there were still honourable men in the corridors of power in Nigeria.

  • ‘How to strengthen oil, gas industry’

    The Federal Government should reposition the oil and gas sector for growth by designing implemen-ting good policies, industry stakeholders have said.

    The stakeholders include the Chairman, Schlumberger in Africa, Mr. Sola Oyinlola, Head of Oil and Gas, Renaissance Capital, Ildar Davletshin and ExxonMobil Production Company President , Mr. Neil Duffin.

    The sector, according to them,  has suffered stunted growth due to problems of theft, pipeline vandalism and poor investments. The development, they said, has resulted in divestment of assets by International Oil Companies (IOCs) and  movement from onshore to offshore fields in order to survive.

    Oyinlola said the government can help solve the problems by providing a well articulated policy framework to guide operators in the industry. He said good policies were lacking in the sector, which also caused problems for the operators and the government.

    He said the laws and regulations guiding the industry were outdated and needed to be overhauled to encourage growth. He urged the Federal Government to implement policies that would spur growth in the sector.

    Oyinlola said: “The Muhammad Buhari led administration is trying to give direction to the sector by ensuring that operators play in line with the rules guiding the industry. We  are optimistic that the challenges in the industry would be tackled expeditiously to provide a new dynamic investment destination.”

    He said there were untapped opportunities in the sector despite the successes recorded by some of the operators. He then advised the government to formulate and implement policies that would enable operators maximise gains of investments and further achieve good profit margins.

    According to him, when good policies are in place, operators would execute projects, bring in new investors and spur the growth of the industry.

    Duffin said ExxonMobil was able to execute Erha North Phase II project because there were good policies in place. He said the project was a deepwater development located 60 miles offshore of Nigeria in 3,300 feet of water and four miles north of the Erha field.

    Duffin said: “Executing successful projects such as Erha North Phase 2 ahead of schedule and under budget results from ExxonMobil’s disciplined project management approach and expertise. It was as a result of a well implemented oil and gas policies. Based on this, we have been able to create additional shareholder value by optimising existing infrastructure, which reduces capital spending requirements and improves capital efficiency.”

    He said Erha North Phase II project has since 2006 delivered additional 165 million barrels of crude to Nigeria with a peak production of 65,000 barrels per day.

    Davletshin urged the government to use its mandate to implement the much-needed reforms in the oil and gas sector since the industry is the mainstay of the economy.

    “While it is unlikely that Nigeria will escape its dependence on the sector, there is clear potential for the country to strengthen its oil and gas industry and develop a more diversified and balanced economy, following the successful models of resource-rich countries such as Canada, Norway and Australia,” he said.

  • Tourism can replace oil as major foreign exchange earner, says Sani

    The senator representing Kaduna Central Shehu Sani has advised the Federal Government to develop the tourism sector in its efforts to diversify the economy.

    He said since the earnings from oil had reduced, the growth of tourism deserves better attention as a viable alternative for foreign exchange earnings.

    Sani spoke at the weekend when he visited the slave port in Badagry, Lagos State.

    He said: “From what I have seen in Badagry, if we are able to develop the relics of slavery and other historical sites in this town, Nigeria will be competing with other countries that get most of their foreign exchange earnings from tourism.

    “The Federal Government should fund this project to earn more foreign exchange and attract more visitors coming to Nigeria. It is beyond Lagos State. The people of Badagry deserve the Federal Government’s support in keeping the relics of slavery.”

    He hailed them for being able to preserve the relics and history of slavery.

    He said: “As a senator, I am working on a Bill that is called “Historic Sites Protection and Preservation Bill”. It is a bill that is aimed at drawing the attention of the Federal Government to the need to protect and preserve historic places that have formed part of Nigeria’s memory and history. I am working on this bill and it is about to be read the second time in the National Assembly.

    “My visit to the slave port here (Badagry) is in that very process. And since I have gone round, I have seen a number of things. I have seen treasures of our history, I have seen treasure of our memory, I have seen well-preserved artefacts, documents and facts that form the component of where we came from and where we are today.”

  • Landlord families shut down Agip’s oil wells

    The ONELGA Oil and Gas landlords Families in ONELGA in Rivers State have shut down 37 of the oil well heads of the Nigerian Agip Oil Company/NNPC joint venture.

    The association´s chairman Mr. Chikobi Alali, in a statement said the decision to shut down the oil company’s  operations became imperative when several attempts allegedly made by the association to resolve the age long dispute between the landlord families and the company failed.

    It said the association is the ancient owners of OML 60 and 61 on which stand the 150 oil well heads which NAOC operates in the local government area NAOC facilities like the Ebocha oil center, OB/OB Gas injection plant, electrical generating turbines, pipelines, flow lines and other installations.

    According to the group, the latest showdown with  the company was triggered off by NAOC’s alleged  inability to honour the understanding it reached with the association to pay all pending bills as palliative to create harmony in addressing serious problems affecting the communities such as security, corporate social responsibility CSR, and matters relating to the environment.

    “The palliatives are immediate payment of all landlords contractors bills, payment of 1% total amount accrued from deduction made in contracts awarded to and executed by landlord families contractor to the association account, out of court resolution of all pending court cases between the oil and gas landlords families and NAOC including judgment of court in suit no: FHC/PH/CS/1352/2004, compensation of the Ebocha blowout for Egbema communities, and payment of approved legal land rates by government.

    “In December 2016 the association received telephone short messages from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources emanating from NAOC claiming to have made these payments to the landlords contractors. The landlords waited for one week without receiving alert from the banks.

    “This prompted the Minister of Petroleum to send a fact finding team to NAOC office in Port Harcourt and the result according to Mr. Charles Achodo Special Adviser to the Minister of Petroleum Resources on Niger Delta, that the money for the payment has been approved but does not know who it was paid to.

    “ It will be recalled that the ONELGA oil and gas landlord families’ contractors have not been paid for their services for over one year now,” the association stated.

    It said amongst those reached by the association to amicably resolve these issues in the past include the Chairman of ENI Group Ms. Emma Marcegala, Managing Director of ENI Group Claudio Descalzo, vice-president of ENI Group Sub-saharan Africa Mr. Umberto Carrara and Managing Director NAOC/NNPC joint venture Mr. Massimo Insulla.

    Others are the Honorable Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Minister of Defence, Minister of Interior, Chief of Defence Staff and the Inspector-General of Police who for about a year now have not been able to been able to resolve the disagreement.

    The association called  on the government to come to its  aid as a regulatory authority to protect the interest of the landlords as it has “ become evident that international oil companies (IOC) does not and has no intention of protecting the interest of the landlords.”