The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Oil

  • Oil rises above $107 as Iraq turmoil intensifies

    Oil rises above $107 as Iraq turmoil intensifies

    The price of oil rose above $107  as violence worsened in Iraq with reports of a massacre by Islamic militants, raising fears of widening instability in the country, a key energy producer.

    The northern town of Tal Afar became the latest to fall to the militants, who have already captured a vast swath of territory including Iraq’s second-largest city, Mosul. The militants, who on Sunday posted graphic photos of truckloads of Iraqi soldiers that they apparently captured and killed, vow to march on Baghdad.

    After rising 4.1 per cent last week, benchmark U.S. crude for July delivery rose 36 cents to $107.27 — the highest in nine months — in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

    Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, gained 63 cents to $113.09 a barrel in London.

    The capture of Mosul, a key gateway for Iraqi crude, raises worries about whether the country can rebuild its energy infrastructure and raise production to meet global demand.

    A U.S. aircraft carrier has moved into the Persian Gulf as President Barack Obama considers military options, though he has ruled out sending in American troops.

    “The U.S. has ruled out putting troops on the ground, raising fears of a protracted period of tensions that might spill over into the wider Middle East,” Mizuho Bank analysts said in a report.

    “With no signs of any decisive U.S. actions to enforce the security situation, oil prices continue to price in fears of supply disruptions.

  • ‘Enabling environment ’ll make Nigeria oil, gas leader’

    ‘Enabling environment ’ll make Nigeria oil, gas leader’

    Creation of a stable and investor friendly environment will help Nigeria maintain its position as Africa’s leading oil and gas producer, the Chief Executive Officer, Oando Energy Resources (OER) , Mr Olapade Durotoye, has said.

    He listed short, medium and long term strategies that would keep Nigeria as Africa’s oil and gas leader.

    He said in the short term, the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) should be such that it would clarify  both local and foreign investment decision making.

    He explained that the marginal field award round due this year would unlock reserves to the independents oil firms, through the relinquishment clauses in place for proved undeveloped fields and divestments by international oil companies (IOCs).

    He canvassed local legislation that would grant indigenous independents a competitive advantage and reinforced action by the government and other stakeholders to ensure sustained curtailment of militancy and political strife in oil and gas producing areas, as well as crude theft reduction.

    He urged the Federal Government to find alternative  solutions to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Joint Venture (JV) funding problems, which the JV operators complain of unduly delays operations.

    In the medium term, Durotoye said implementation of pro-exploration regulatory reforms is  vital, adding that the continued global economic recovery eases capital markets and improves smaller independent producers’ access to funding.

    He called for support to the power sector reform, which he noted has increased domestic gas demand and has boosted Nigeria’s domestic gas industry.

    On the long term, he urged the government to key into the long term progressive energy policies from producing countries and also support the increasing technology transfer to indigenous independents as a result of partnerships with IOCs.

    He stressed the need for liberalisation and consistency of government policies as enabler for economic and indigenous players’ growth.

    Durotoye said harnessing the opportunities in the sector requires careful management of known risks,adding that on macroeconomic level, the global economy is slowly emerging from the crisis and activities are on the increase giving rise to future growth from emerging and frontier markets to replace demand growth in the developed world.

  • ‘Needed: Infrastructure in oil, gas’

    Nigeria requires infrastructure to achieve the much-needed growth in its oil and gas industry, the Managing Director, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Andrew Fawthrop, has said.

    Fawthrop, who spoke at a stakeholders’ forum in Lagos, said there are investment windows in the industry, adding that only consistent and solid infrastructural framework can help foster the sector’s growth.

    He said the development of infrastructure would help in providing the needed energy support for the populace and further galvanise the tempo of economic activities.

    ‘’Development of infrastructure is required to get energy support in Nigeria to Nigerians, and Africa to Africans. Nigeria can develop its energy resources, as well as provide them commercially to bolster growth. Though Africa contributes more to energy security in the world, the impacts are not being felt in economies of oil producing countries,” he said, adding that a stable framework is needed to increase Direct Foreign Investments (FDIs) in Nigeria and Africa.

    He said immense opportunities are waiting to be tapped in the continent.

    ‘’To increase the inflow of foreign investment in energy resources in Nigeria and Africa in particular, government and private sector participation is needed. Chevron has for more than a century, been doing business in Africa. We are focusing on opportunities in Angola to boost investment prospects in Africa,” he added.

     

  • Oil cash fuels dispute between Bayelsa, Delta communities

    Oil cash fuels dispute between Bayelsa, Delta communities

    A boundary dispute between two communities in Delta and Bayelsa states may snowball into a bloody war. Southsouth Regional Editor Shola O’Neil, who visited the area, reports that at the root of the crisis is a N305m court victory by one of the feuding parties against an oil giant 

    There is no visible attraction on Okia’s landscape to indicate why two communities are locked in a fierce tussle over its ownership. The tussle is between the people of Agge community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State and Okia, Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State.

    Okia is disappointing. Apart from a lone weed-overtaken multimillion naira civic centre, which sits forlorn in the middle of the bush, there is no suggestion of any other asset in the town.

    The emptiness is accentuated by the imposing multimillion naira, Civic Centre, built by SPDC, operator of the NNPC/SHELL/TEPN/Agip Joint Venture. An abandoned (or failed) project – a solar power water scheme lies besides the centre.

    The civic centre is as divisive as the community. One of several residents of neighbouring hamlets who spoke with our reporter said they could not comprehend why the company “would commit dozens of millions to build and furnish a massive structure in the middle of nowhere.”

    Okia may just be another hamlet in the creek; yet for over a decade there have been lingering scrimmages between Agge community (a clan of four brothers) over the ownership of this strip of land on the tip of the Ramos River.

    The sound of the war drum increased towards crescendo recently when the Okia (the Gbeneyeis) won a N305 million suit against Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). The case was instituted in 2001 after one of several crude oil spillages from the company’s facility.

    Pius, one of the Gbeneyei brothers, alerted security and governments’ agencies to a ‘brewing boundary clash’ between Okia and Agge in Delta and Bayelsa states.

    He accused the people of Agge of using resources from Delta land to service another state – Bayelsa. The move was seen as a ploy to drag the two state governments into the brewing crisis.

    The comical and effervescent Pius told Niger Delta Report that Okia had borne the brunt of several aggression by their counterparts, explaining that the activities of the Agge people kept his town undeveloped. He said Okia was a thriving community until it was razed by the people of Agge nearly a decade ago: “They attacked us, killed our people, wounded some and laid the community to ruin.”

    His claims, like several others over the community, could not be independently verified by our reporter, who found neither stumps of the former houses nor graves of those killed in the empty town.

    Our independent investigation though indicated that until a few decades ago it was just a fishing camp. But it became strategic when the Trans Ramos Trunk Line was built by Shell to convey crude from oil wells in the area to the Forcados Terminal for export. Okia is the point where the pipeline crosses from one state to the other.

    Oil Royalty the root of the crisis – Pius Gbeneye

    With its strategic position, the community became attractive to the oil firm and locals. Confirming this, Pius Gbeneyei told our reporter that Okia “is a very small community, but it is also very rich”.

    First sign of trouble emerged when Shell awarded the Integrated Production Surveillance Service (IPSS) to an indigene of Agge community, much to the chagrin of Gbeneyei and other claimants to the Okia title. The Gbeneyei brothers kicked and sued the SPDC to court.

    But HRH David Isiayei, the traditional head of Agge and its Federated Communities, told our reporter that it was the right of Agge to get any contract from Okia. The traditional ruler, who spoke extensively on the tussle, recalled that the land was acquired from his community by Shell even before most of the claimants were born.

    He explained that Okia was merely separated from his community by the necessity of using the Ramos River as a boundary between the two states, adding that Okia is used by fisherman for seasonal fishing expeditions.

    “When the time for a particularly fishing in the area comes up, people leave Agge and other communities in Bayelsa and Delta to settle there for weeks. They fish, dry their catches and sell or take them to Agge, which has been a fishing depot for centuries.

    “When Julius Berger was building the Trans Ramos pipeline, people came from all over the country to look for job here. That was how the Gbeneyeis came here. They settled and worked, but because they lived in Okia, at a point they started parading themselves as owners of the land. So we went to court and got a judgement, which ordered them to leave the land.

    “You see, we are all Ijaws and we do not discriminate, but problem usually arises when some people want to take our hospitality for granted. Okia is part of Agge in Kou Kingdom, nobody can dispute that. That it falls on the other side of the river that has been marked Delta doesn’t change that,” he added.

    While saying that there is no contest over the land, the aged monarch also revealed that Agge had recorded series of legal victories that conferred the ownership of Okia on his community.

    Speaking in the same vein, Chairman of Agge and its Federated Communities, Mr Stephen Fiyapade, accused oil multinationals of using divide-and-rule tactics to create trouble in oil communities. He said the latest crisis was instigated by some Shell staff who used “some persons” to make money for themselves by making Okia a host community.”

    Fiyapade particularly noted that the civic centre built in the bush was part of the concept adopted by the oil workers. “Which sane person would conceive a project like that in the bush? How many people are living around there for the company to build a town hall that can sit up to 1,000 person? Doesn’t that tell you anything?”

    The mutual suspicion between the two communities is the major reason the Civil Centre had not been used for nearly three years since it was built.

    A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, hinted that the project may have been a conduit pipe by some persons to make easy money.

    “It is part of the deliberate programme of some oil companies’ staff to create ‘communities’ that they can use to hijack money meant for Corporate Social Responsibility. Tell me, if Shell’s headquarters in The Hague comes here would they be happy that their fund was put into a project that would benefit no one?” the source asked.

    The source explained that the “Civic Centre might just be a contract awarded to empower some contractors and to benefit some powerful interest within the JV operators. Don’t be surprised that this same Okia may have been awarded other ’projects’ in the past. This kind of corporate social responsibility is irresponsible, to say the least.”

    Furthermore, our finding revealed that in line with the Shell GMoU with communities, such projects as the civic centre are not conceived by Shell, but the community.

    A high ranking Shell official told our reporter, “You can blame Shell or any other oil firm for this kind of project because the people of the community usually determine what they want and the company merely provides fund to execute them. That is how the GMoU model of community development operates.”

    Meanwhile, Pius Gbeneyei debunked reports of court victory conferring the ownership of the community on Agge. Touting his own legal victories, he explained that Agge only won against Okibou, a boundary community in Delta State.

    “Agge has never won any court case against us.”

    He traced the latest “aggression” of Agge people to the landmark Federal High Court judgment, which awarded him and four others N305,637,381.60 as special and general damages caused by Shell crude oil spill.

    Gbeneyei said prior to the ruling Agge, had sort to “gain through the backdoor” by asking to be joined in the case, adding, “They were denied and ordered to pay me N40,000. But they ran away and up till today we did not seen them.

    “The Agge people do not have any oil well; they are looking for an opportunity to benefit at all cost that is why they want to annexe our land in order to continue to deal with oil companies as host communities. We are not going allow that,” he added.

    “They have continued to go to oil companies in the area to collect money as host. With all these, I do not know why they are still troubling us. We are preparing to return to our community and they cannot stop us,” Pius Gbeneyei added.

    But, the Agge traditional head said the ‘court victory’ being bandied by the Gbeneyeis was merely a criminal case when some persons were arrested by Agge indigene for erecting an illegal signpost on Okia land and not on the ownership of the land.

     

     

  • Don to speak on oil theft

    Don to speak on oil theft

    A professor of Political Science in Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, Kunle Ajayi, is to attend an international symposium on Governance and Security in Africa scheduled to hold in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia between April 28 and 30.

    Ajayi’s invitation was premised on the selection of his paper tiled: ‘Piracy and oil theft in the Gulf of Guinea: The global maritime security options and responses.’

    Ajayi is an expert in Peace, Conflict and Governance.

  • Army destroys stolen oil, diesel

    Army destroys stolen oil, diesel

    Troops of 4 Brigade Nigerian Army, Benin last Thursday destroyed one truck load of 13,000 liters of stolen crude oil and a tank-load of 33,000 liters of illegally refined AGO (Diesel).

    Spokesman of the Brigade, Captain Abubakar Abdullahi at a media briefing said the destruction was in line with the determination to eradicate crude theft, illegal oil bunkering and pipeline vandalism.

    ” In the last one month, the sector conducted total of 592 anti-oil bunkering patrol and raids. During such patrols total of 98 illegal refineries were destroyed. 141 Cotonou boats were also arrested and destroyed in addition to 15 Tanker trucks.

    “ Also 15 illegal fuel reservoir were destroyed while 93 surface tanks popularly called GEEPEE tanks were also destroyed. Additionally 1709 drums of illegally refined product were destroyed while 10 pumping machines were seized and destroyed. We also seized 3 weapons in the process,” Abdulahi disclosed.

    Explaining that the efforts of the Brigade is to eradicate the activities of oil thieves, bunkerers and pipeline vandals which pose danger to the nation’s  economy, Abdulahi appealed  to the public to provide  timely and accurate information on the activities of the saboteurs.

  • Stakeholders in oil and gas urged to update knowledge

    • Peacock begins new management programmes

    The Principal, Peacock College, Dr. Zenon Adamek, has called on players in the oil and gas industry to update their knowledge to meet up with competitions in the industry.

    Ademak spoke at a forum where he introduced a new management programme for the oil and gas sector by the institution.

    The programme, which he said, would lead to MSc and MBA degrees, is designed for company executives and government technocrats, who can participate online and onsite.

    He said the programme is meant for them.

    He said the college, which is part of the Peacock Group, with interests in travel management and financial services, is also offering courses in Marketing, Personal Development, Travel and Tourism as well as Information and Communication Technology.

    Adamek said: “The programmes, which are essentially short courses, kicked off in February at the institution’s facility located at Ramsgate in London. The courses, Ademak explained, are designed to fire up executives into their creative peak in order to add value to their organisations.

    Under the programme, he said, participants will be taken through courses, such as Petroleum Economics, Risk Analysis, Oil and Gas Accounting and the Fundamentals of Gas and LNG Projects.”

    “To keep up in the modern world, you have to continually top up your skills and acquire new ones along the way.

    “We offer a lot more. These include experienced instructors, modern instructional aides, networking opportunities with participants from Nigeria and other Africa countries, Asia and the Middle East,” he added.

     

  • Anambra oil communities commit to peace

    Most communities of Nigeria oil and gas producing areas have inugurated a 20-man executive committee for the Anambra State Chapter chaired by Sir Kingsley Nnalue.

    Inaugurating the committte at White View Hotels in Awka, the National President of the host communities, Chief A. M. Bubor from Bayelsa State said host communities are not violent as being speculated, adding that what they demand are their rights from government.

    Their agitations were three things, according to him: namely, cancer penalty, DRPP levy and gas flaring money.

    He said that those who brand host communities as problematic people do so in bad faith, adding that the commuinties are peace-loving people who are always calm.

    Bubor further said that the 10 per cent equity signed with the host communities by the late president Musa Yar’Adua has been maintained by President Goodluck Jonathan, adding: “we are not a political party but we are more than a political party.”

    In his inuagural address, the state chairman of the communities, Sir Kingsley Nnalue said he believed in the Barrack Obama slogan; “Yes, we can”, adding that they would make sure that there would not be any violence in the oil communities in the state.

    Already, he said that they had initiated some youth and women empowerment programmes in the oil and gas communities.

    According to him, “we have seven acres of land for agricultural purposes and also hiring out tractors for mechanised farming  at cheaper rates, more empowerment programme will follow soonest,” Nnalue said.

  • Delta community battles oil firm Dubril

    Delta community battles oil firm Dubril

    An oil-rich community, Ughoton, and an oil firm are engaged in a battle of words over issues bothering on social responsibility, writes Osagie Otabor, Benin.

    Ughoton, an oil-rich village in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Delta State, is locally and nationally significant. The Bini people believe that it is the route where the dead pass through to heaven. They believe that a bereaved family, anywhere in the land, could briefly see for the last time their lost member if they rush to Ughoton at a certain time after the death.

    Ughoton is also historically significant as the burial site of Captain James Phillip, the leader of the British expedition team who was killed by Benin chiefs for refusing to obey no visit order during a feast. His death led to the Benin massacre of 1897 and the exile of Oba Ovoramwen.

    Unfortunately, the abundant wealth and rich historical background of Ughoton have not translated into better life for the people.

    Niger Delta Report’s visit to the community revealed that the only health centre in the community was built 12 years ago; it is not functional and overgrown by weeds. The village gets 12 hours of electricity daily from generators provided by Dubril Oil Company and the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The only borehole provided by the NDDC is presently faulty. There are no roads in the community apart from the road leading to Gelegele village that was constructed by the NDDC in 2009.

    There are four oil wells in the village from which 340 barrels of crude oil are produced daily by Dubril Oil. On December 28 last year, Dubril shut down one of the oil wells that supplied 200 barrels of crude oil daily due to oil spillage in one of the pipelines. The ruptured pipeline occurred under the tarred road.

    After the oil spillage and the negative news report aired by a local television station, management of Dubrin Oil ran to Benin City and held a press conference where they debunked locals claimed that they (Dubril) have not been doing anything for the community.

    The oil firm’s Community Relations Officer, Mr. Clement Seweje, at the briefing said less than one barrel was spilled before it was contained and the oil well shut. He said the oil spill did not cause any damage to crops or farmlands in the community.

    He blamed the incident on the alleged negligence of a contractor engaged by the NDDC. He said it ignored its warning that the road was on its pipeline rights of way. He said Dubril would re-route the pipeline from the main road.

    Mr. Seweje said Dubril plans to raise its crude oil production to 2,000 barrels per day by the third quarter of this year and pointed out that the oil company has been discharging its corporate social responsibility to the community.

    He said: “We are giving them what is due to them. We hold quarterly meetings with them. We provide electricity 12 hours daily from our generators. We renovated the only primary school in the community and provide them with scholarships. We have economic empowerment scheme for their children who want to learn skills.

    “There are two factions now in the community and we choose to remain neutral by not supporting anybody. We have told them to put their house in order before we can give anything further.”

    A visit to Ughoton, however, revealed a community that seemed abandoned. Many houses have collapsed and the villagers get their water from a nearby stream. Our reporter was taken round some of the projects claimed to have been executed by Dubril. The school block built by the community has collapsed and there were no doors in the five blocks of classroom built by Dubril.

    “Does this looked like a community with oil?” Quipped one of the elders,Uyi Erhunomase.

    “Dubril has not explored other oil blocs since they took over from Phillips company. They gave us a generator without erecting a building for it and we did not use it. We are only using the one provided by NDDC. These oil pipes were laid 52 years ago and they have not been changed.

    “We saw the oil spilling out and we quickly informed them. They came and shut the well without repairing it.”

    The abandoned health centre build by the NDDC has been overgrown by weeds. It was built with residences for doctors and nurses. Uyi said it was locked after it was commissioned and since then they have not seen any health officials.

    He said they used to travel to Benin City which is about 45 minutes drive for medical attention or whenever health officials visited every market days.

    Head of the village, Izevbigie Ehrunomase corroborated Uyi, saying the company has not done anything since he emerged as the village head. He said stipend it used to pay to the elders was suspended because they claimed a faction existed in the village.

    “The oil well security provided by the villagers was stopped and they brought soldiers. They used to bring Christmas gifts but for two years now they have not brought anything during festive periods. They did not provide us with water. It was brought by NDDC. It is faulty now and we asked them to repair it and they refused. Now that their pipeline burst, they have agreed to repair the borehole but nothing has been done now.

    “The generator was brought by Phillip before Dubril came but for three years now, the generator has been faulty and they did not do anything about it. We built our school but it has collapsed.

    “The scholarship is N30,000 a year for a child and it is given to 10 children after a written examination. Last year they brought a list and the names there were strange to me and I refused to sign. I told them the names are not from this village. They have not brought any list this year.”

    “We want them to fix electricity, water and restore the security job. The elders’ money should also be paid. The burst pipe should be removed from the main road. It is bursting all the time and it is endangering our lives.

    Local and state government have not done anything for this community. This oil community should be lifted and accorded the status it deserves. We need help. If they give us what we want. If they deal with the other faction, there will be no settlement. We don’t want trouble but they will not work here if they deal with other factions.”

     

     


     

  • ‘It’s shameful we don’t know how much oil is produced’

    ‘It’s shameful we don’t know how much oil is produced’

    Comrade Sunny Ofehe, founder/Executive Director, Hope for Niger Delta Campaign, an international NGO based in The Netherlands that raises awareness on the environmental and human rights situation of the people of the Niger Delta area. In this interview with SHOLA O’NEIL, he speaks on some issues affecting the people of the region including the environment, illegal bunkering and others.

    What is your foundation doing about environmental issues in the Niger Delta?

    The Hope of Niger Delta Campaign started 2005 and we have done quite a lot. In the beginning, we started by organising conferences to raise awareness, bringing experts and stakeholders together. The aim was to raise awareness and proffer on tropical issues. We also have short documentary films to show the environmental impact resulting from oil extraction in the area. These can be found in our website.  We also follow up on government programmes they affect the region. Recently we submitted a memorandum to the Joint House Committee on the PIB and i came in to defend the memorandum. Our foundation has in the past and currently worked with international agencies like Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth/Environmental Rights Action and other agencies.

    Do  you think governments, oil firms and others are doing enough to address environmental issues?

    My personal assessment is that the government, the oil companies are not doing enough. Let’s take the UNEP Report, this is a wonderful report done by a reputable respected organisation reporting on the situation in Ogoni, which is a small part of the Niger Delta. One would have expected that the government would have taken that report seriously and use it to force the IOCs to act accordingly to meet up with international standards in doing their business in the Niger Delta. Unfortunately, two years on nobody is talking about it. We are planning through some international NGOs and a member of the Dutch parliament to see how we can bring other European MPs together to raise that awareness and put pressure on the government and oil companies so that they can go back and follow all the recommendations in the report.

    When you look at the environment today, you can say that the manner with which the oil companies carry out their operation is a little bit different because of the awareness that have been raised.  That is not to say they are doing it properly, but it is a little bit different from what we used to see in the region. Today, ignorance has paved way for awareness and because they now know there are international attention on the region, people are going there to find out for themselves so the way the IOCs operate is no longer hidden. Because of that, there have been some levels of improvement. But to say the state of the FG has done enough to check environmental degradation is not correct. For oil companies, remediation processes are not really impressive; compensation for families who have lost their sources of livelihood because of oil pollution is still not there. You will remember that a Dutch court recently reached a verdict on the case of four farmers who brought SHELL to court in The Hague. Although majority of the case was lost, it went a long way to bring interest to the issue of environment in the Niger Delta.

    People feel that the FG has not help locals tackle the issue of pollution because as a majority stakeholder, it is in fact the biggest polluter. Do you think the FG should hands off oil business as some suggest?

    I don’t think the FG should hands off the industry. We have agencies like NOSDRA, DPR, who are supposed to be very independent of the oil operations. Ordinarily, they have the constitutional mandate to follow up, investigate causes of oil spills, determine extent of damage and seek remediation and force the polluter to act according and follow up.

    Unfortunately these agencies are not well funded, they don’t have technocrats, they have been criticised, they are directly under the control of government and the oil companies tend to be their sources of equipment to carry out their works. They rely on the oil companies, who are the polluter to reach some of their final results. That is also affecting the results. If the government can have the political will….

    In all countries, there is always government involvement to some extent in oil extraction. Like in the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexica, the government there have a stake in the process, but when that spill came, the government act independent irrespective of their own position within the formation.  They followed the law, pushed BP to follow the law and pay compensation. We expect that to take place here. Unfortunately, we have so much corruption within the oil and gas institution. That corruption is making things not to work the way it should.

    Also, the victims of oil pollution are usually very poor people who don’t have the means to fight the powerful oil companies and the Nigerian government. I don’t want to say that the government should hands off oil business because if it happens you leave it in the hands of private people. What I think should be done is that the oil companies should follow international laws and raise their standards to meet international standards. If there is pollution, you must find a way to cleanup as soon as possible and pay the victim.

    As an international NGO operator, what are you doing to achieve this?

    In 2010, I facilitated the trip of a member of the Dutch Parliament to the Niger Delta. We went to two locations, one was to see gas flare, the other to see oil spill. What they say was different from what they read. Moved by what they saw, they organised a Dutch Parliamentary here and I was invited to talk about the situation. Shell was invited to defend their role in the Niger Delta.

    There was so much media frenzy on that hearing. The outcome was not really what we expected, but we were able to raise the level of awareness to that level where Shell for the first time was summoned to the parliament to explain their action in the Niger Delta. It was clear that the interest of the parliamentarian was that Shell was Dutch own and whatever damage they do to the name also affects the country. They owed it a duty to the citizens of The Netherland to question Shell.

    We also took it to the European Union Parliament, where we spoke to some members and a date was set in April 2010. This time we wanted to take it just beyond Shell. We wanted to bring in the French because of Total and Italians because of ENI. Somehow, Shell withdrew from that roundtable and because it is the biggest player in the Niger Delta, AGIP and Total had to follow suit.

    Do you think agencies like NOSDRA are doing enough and how do you address the issue of corruption in the system?

    They do not have the means, qualification and funding to carry out an independent assessment and spill analysis and the will to apportion blames on who it should be and push the processes that would lead to proper cleanup and compensations for the victims. That is still not an excuse because at the end of the day people are suffering and we do not want that. That is why we feel government should take the right step.

    Compare the Federal Government response to the Bonga Spill with the U.S.’s response to the BP Spill; a lot of people feel that although the spills are similar, response are widely different because of the calibre of persons handling sensitive position as the Ministry of Environment, whose then minister overflew in a Shell helicopter and came back to praise the polluter as doing a beautiful work.

    I also had that situation when I came in with the member of the Dutch Parliament. We had our meetings arranged and when it got to the time of Shell, the company told them that they do not want me to be a part of that trip. They came with MOPOL and heavily armed men and the usual military vehicle.  Prior to this time I had taken the people to places, even the water front in Port Harcourt, some communities without any form of escort and they were amazed. But when it was time for Shell, they came with armed men and took them around in a helicopter to all the places Shell wanted them to see and they came back trying to compare the trip of Shell with the general situation.

    Why would a minister fly on Shell helicopter to inspect a spill site that occurred offshore? It is because they do not have their own.  Now even NOSDRA was relying on data supplied by Shell to do their reporting. When there is a spill, these agencies are waiting for Shell to bring vehicles to convey their staff from location A to B. So, you cannot get an independent report that would really tell the true situation of what is happening.

    What is your opinion on the PIB and the delay in its passage by the National Assembly

    I think the bill is a very wonderful idea. I have taken my time to go through the areas I can understand because there are so many legalities in the description. But I think it has touched virtually everywhere that we didn’t have any legislation on.  The cases in The Hague was very difficult for judges to reach a decision because there was no national law in Nigeria that they could use as reference point to make their judgement. If the bill becomes law, it will empower local people. It will also give room for the local communities in direct involvement in the resources that comes from their area. I think we should not politicise this bill. I was there during the public hearing and there were lots of people from northern Nigeria speaking against the bill. I do not think it has to do with ethnicity ; it can also be used by states in the north to control resources they produce. It is a good step and I am happy that the executive arm is willing to see it becomes a law. I also want to appeal to the legislature to act quickly and make it become a law.

    How do you suggest the Federal Government tackle illegal bunkering?

    It is a cartel business that requires the effort of not just the Nigerian government but the international community. We have always said that one of the best ways to tackle illegal bunkering is to mark the Nigerian crude oil. In Europe from for instance, if there is a spill from a vessel carrying crude oil, merely looking at the crude floating on the sea, if you know about how it is coloured, you will know from which country it is coming. If you are able to mark Nigerian crude it will be easy to separate the genuine crude from illegal crude. It means if you are buying unmarked crude from Nigeria, you are involving in a criminal activity. That should be the first step.

    Most times oil companies tend to put the blame on criminal elements in the Niger Delta but I think it goes beyond that. There was a time we wanted to carry out a documentary to show that some official of Shell, JTF and security operatives and even politicians are involved. People use tank vessels that are millions of euro. That is no small business. You need more than Nigerian security forces to fight. We want to call international forces to support Nigeria but we as a country must show that it wants to be supported.

    If there is corruption, it will be very difficult for even the US to the UK to come and protect oour shorelines and pipelines from being vandalised and being source of illegal bunkering.

    Nigeria as a country does not know how much crude oil companies drill. This is really a shame that one of the largest oil exporters in the world don’t know what it produce. I read that Norway wanted to help Nigeria to establish mechanism to measure the crude produce, but this was sabotaged by the oil firms. The government of President Jonathan took some steps at the beginning but the oil firms also sabotage this effort by saying it is too expensive.

    I want to believe that the biggest oil bunkering is taking place in this process of Nigeria not knowing how much crude oil they pump from the ground.

    Are you saying the oil companies are involved in illegal bunkering?

    If you cannot tell the  owner of the crude oil how much oil you drill, you just come up with report and say this is what we have for today, then you leave room for people to also suspect that you have the capacity to also drill more than you are declaring.  If you want to be transparent in your operation, you should within the manifold, measure exactly what you drill and what you declare.

    Do you think some Nigerians, government agencies are benefitting from this ambiguity?

    Definitely. The oil companies cannot drill more than what they declare without a few Nigerians in some positions knowing that. I want to believe that the biggest bunkering is actually taking place in this process.