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Tag: Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria

  • PENGASSAN draws battle line with Exxonmobil over sack

    A possible confrontation between members of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) and the management of Exxonmobil is by the corner, following moves by the oil giant to disengage some of its local employees this week, The Nation has learnt.

    The union had on three occasions warned the multinational firm to desist from its various levels of discriminatory de-Nigerianisation stance, which has in the last three years excluded the citizens from performing strategic functions in the office.

    It was gathered that membership of all the Special Review which determines the current spate of sacks, retirements and job losses are whites. There is no single black person in the team.

    PENGASSAN sources indicated early in the week that the company has demonstrated a lot of impunity in its activities, to the extent of even ignoring court summons and appearances and has gone forward to relieve top Nigerians of their positions.

    The union said: “It is unfortunate that reported intimidation, harassment, bullying, witch-hunting and unethical practices, reported against the Special Review or investigation team by PENGASSAN was not investigated and addressed by the company.

    “The demand of PENGASSAN communicated through our letter dated November 21, 2018 to suspend the review, was ignored and treated with utmost disdain.”

    Our sources can reveal that the company, which is now inundated with several legal issues relating to this, is not relenting in its plots of de-Nigerianisation, and has replaced its Nigerian security employees with a new arrival of over 30 foreigners posted within and outside the establishment. This development trails the occurrence, few months ago, where a good number of some lower employees were replaced in the same manner.

    The union said the action  attracted a protracted legal tussle which the company eventually lost, even though it went on to accomplish its bidding. This expresses the pattern of disregard for law when it comes to treating Nigerians in the organisation, the body stated.

    When contacted, Manager, Media and Communications, Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited (MPN), Mr. Oge Udeagha, said: “It is MPN’s policy to provide equal employment opportunities, in conformance with all applicable laws and regulations, to individuals who are qualified to perform job requirements.

    All matters relating to our employees are private, and we therefore decline to comment further on this issue.

  • PENGASSAN Addax branch gets chair

    Members of the Petroleum and Natural  Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) in Addax Petroleum have elected Comrade Chris Ogiemwonyi Jnr. chairman for a second term of three years.

    Ogiemwonyi Jnr. was unanimously chosen as the chair through a consensus by delegates during the branch’s fifth Triennial Delegates Conference in Lagos.

    Other members of the Branch Executive Council (BEC) include Comrades Simon Ononekwu, Gerald Agwu, Temidoyo Diabo and Ken Olubo, who are vice chairman, secretary, assistant secretary and treasurer.

    Financial Secretaryis Comrade Arodiwe Kenechukwu; Comrade Abiola Oyebola (Industrial Relations Officer); Comrade Assumpta Uzoma (Branch Women-in-PENGASSAN); and Comrade Bode Odedeyi (Internal Auditor).

    In his acceptance speech, Ogiemwonyi Jnr. urged the new BEC to be prepared for an era of discipline and commitment to serve the branch, adding that they should be prepared to work as a team in confronting the challenges ahead.

    The PENGASSAN President, Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson, called for collaborations between the management and the branch executive for attainment of organisational growth and industrial peace.

    “Hence we require openness and transparency to build trust and confidence in one another. Management should endeavour to take the union along in making business decisions that will impact on the employees’ welfare. As unionists, the BEC should also sacrifice their individual interest for the corporate interest.”

    “For the incoming leaders, the work may appear tedious and the road ahead may appear long and hard but I am sure you are amply endowed with all the key ingredients of success; and we pray that the Almighty Lord will grant them the zeal to serve for the betterment of the branch, our members, the company, the industry and the Association as a whole,” he said.

     

  • Labour rejects cut in contract service period

    THE National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have rejected the Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS), reducing contract service duration to six months.

    NUPENG and PENGASSAN lamented that the jobs which used to be carried out on permanent basis, have been converted to three-year service contract, and the NCDMB which should protect Nigerians against international oil companies (IOCs) has decided to sell Nigerian workers into slavery.

    In a statement, PENGASSAN President Comrade Francis Johnson and NUPENG’s General-Secretary Lumumba  Okugbawa said the unions  would resist the implementation of the agreement, calling for the abrogation of the agreement in the interest of industrial peace.

    “The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), read with rude shock and total dismay, the purported Service Level Agreement (SLA) reached between the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the Oil Producers Trade Section (OPTS) and therefore, condemned it in its entirety and see the SLA as an unwholesome act,”the statement said, pointing out that it is ridiculous and unfortunate that “the NCDMB allowed desperate OPTS to arm-twist it into making mockery of the key thrust of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act of 2010, vis-a-vis maximising participation of Nigerians in the Oil and Gas activities, as well as maximising the utilisation capacity of Nigerian resources, i.e. goods, services and assets.

    “The unions wonder what sort of maximisation of Nigeria’s participation in the Oil and Gas businesses will arise from the reduction of the contract circle to a mere six months duration,” they said,  saying in the statement, that the SLA, “will lead to further impoverishment of indigenous contractors and workers in the oil and gas industry. We are very sure that the prevailing indecent and precarious work condition in the Industry will further be accentuated by the reduction of contract circle to six  months duration.  A situation which this injurious Agreement signed on Wednesday, May 9, 2018 sought to champion, and which is nothing short of slave-labour in our opinion.”

    The unions said the agreement would not deepen the skill acquisition and expertise of Nigerians because of IOCs and indigenous oil companies that may want to exploit such agreement for their pecuniary advantage. They pointed out that any agreement that failed to address decent and sustainable jobs for Nigerians in the oil and gas industry would be resisted in whatever guise they appear.

    The unions said it was unfortunate that the views and opinions of unions in the industry were “not regarded worthy of consideration in the course of work of the NCDMB, yet the Board was specifically set up by law for the reason of maximising decent and sustainable participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry.”

    “With humility and without sounding disputatious or belligerent, NUPENG and PENGASSAN however call on all relevant stakeholders involved in this Agreement to immediately have a rethink of their decision in the overall interest of Nigeria,” the unions said.

  • PENGASSAN hails Reps’ decision on NLNG

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has praised the House of Representatives’ decision on the proposed sale of the Federal Government’s shares in Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).

    PENGASSAN National Public Relations Officer Comrade Fortune Obi said the government should retain its share ownership in the company.

    He described the NLNG model as  the best option, saying it should be replicated in other government failed ventures, such as the refineries and others.

    According to Obi, NLNG is one of the most-successful ventures that Nigeria has embarked upon since its inception.

    He noted that the losses that would accrue from the sale of the NLNG far outweighed its gains; adding that the rather than selling the asset, there are other options the government could adopt to resuscitate the economy.

    The PENGASSAN spokesperson said about 18,000 jobs would be affected if the proposed plan were carried out, adding that the government should explore other options to fund the economy rather than selling a viable company like NLNG, which dividends were used to kick-start and finance the economy when Nigeria was in recession.

    “NLNG has bailed out Nigeria when the country was in recession as proceeds from its dividends were used to finance the economy. Those investors who were clamouring for the FG to sale her shares in NLNG should find another means of injecting their resources into the economy instead of buying a successful company.

    “In the alternative, they should set up their own LNG project and help the country in utilising its large gas reserves as well as eradicating gas flaring in the country,” he said.

  • PENGASSAN calls for speedy passage of bills

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called on the National Assembly to expedite action on the Petroleum Industry Administration, Petroleum Industry Fiscal and Petroleum Host Community Bills in order to realise the benefits of the intended oil and gas reforms.

    In a message by its President, Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson, PENGASSAN said the passage of the bills would revolutionise the sector.

    Hailing the lawmakers for the passage of the first part of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), known as the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill (PIGB), he said: “We must all stand against contract and casual employment as well as off-shoring of jobs, which is tactically and steadily taking over permanent employment and increasing in Nigeria while most jobs that domicile in Nigeria are done outside the country.

    “The government should step up security of lives as well as oil and gas infrastructure, curb pipeline vandalism and the attendant crude oil and petroleum products theft, ensure optimal functioning of the refineries to increase local refining, provide investment-friendly environment for private investors in the downstream sector to encourage investment and drive down job losses in the oil and gas operations in the country.

    “We are, therefore, reiterating our call for a stakeholders’ forum for the purpose of holistically examining the challenges confronting the nation’s oil and gas industry and proffer solutions to the problems.”

    In a related event, PENGASSAN has called on the Federal and Rivers State governments to end illegal refineries causing soot in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.

    According to the union, the soot, in the form of thick black smoke which covers the entire Port Harcourt city, could be the cause of some of the respiratory problems being experienced by inhabitants of the city.

    In a statement by the PENGASSAN National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Fortune Obi, the association said the soot was not getting any serious attention because most of the people affected were still performing their daily tasks while they swim in this soot that has been confirmed by experts to be carcinogenic.

    “The black soot settles on everything and finds its way into the corners of living rooms no matter how hard people try to stop it. Food items in Port Harcourt markets are as well not spared from getting mixed with this deadly soot that is ever present everywhere,” he stated.

    Obi said PENGASSAN in collaboration with other concerned bodies and citizens had created awareness to call the attention of the government to act swiftly and put an end  the source of the killer soot.

  • NNPC warns oil marketers against fuel hoarding

    NNPC warns oil marketers against fuel hoarding

    The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC ) on Monday warned oil marketers to desist from hoarding petroleum products or risk arrest by law enforcement agencies.

    NNPC Spokesman, Ndu Ughamadu, said in a statement in Abuja that the warning followed the uncovering of 144 oil tankers filled with petroleum products in Kano.

    Read also: NNPC threatens to shut stations hoarding fuel

    According to him, government has intervened in an industrial action embarked upon by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria ( PENGASSAN ) over labour disputes with NECONDE Energy Services Ltd.

    “NNPC warns marketers not to hoard products as law enforcement agencies, working with industry regulators, have been detailed to take appropriate measures against any defaulter.

    “The Corporation further assures that there are enough petroleum products to keep the nation wet,” Ughamadu said.

    He urged motorists and other consumers of   petroleum products to resist the temptation to go into panic buying.

    “NNPC wishes to state that relevant government agencies are in consultation with industrial unions to arrive at an amicable resolution of issues over which there are threats of industrial action,” he said.

    The Federal Government has also waded into the matter, appealing to leaders of PENGASSAN to shelve its strike over the sack of workers by NECONDE Energy Services Ltd.

    Queues, which eased some days back, have now returned at filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory.

    NAN

  • PENGASSAN backs NNPC on exploration in inland Basins

    PENGASSAN backs NNPC on exploration in inland Basins

    The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has commended the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) on the exploratory activities it has been spearheading in inland basins.

    PENGASSAN National President, Comrade Francis Johnson, who led the Central Working Committee (CWC) of the union on a courtesy visit to the NNPC Group Managing Director, Dr Maikanti Baru in Abuja, said the yeoman job being undertaken by the NNPC with regards to the frontier basins would benefit the nation ultimately.

    Johnson, according to the NNPC statement that made this disclosure, said the union’s fervent prayer was for a breakthrough to be achieved in the Corporation’s exploratory efforts in the basins.

    The Management of NNPC under the leadership of Dr. Baru, has in recent time, embarked on aggressive exploratory operations in the nation’s frontier basins of the Chad Basin and Benue Trough in line with the aspiration of the Administration of President Muhammadu Buhari to increase the reserves base of the country.

    Dr. Baru, since assumption of office last year, has drummed up support for the exploration activities with critical stakeholders in Bauchi, Borno, Sokoto and Nassarawa State.

    In Nassarawa State recently, he disclosed that NNPC’s Frontier Exploration Services (FES), a services company of the Corporation, had mobilized the Integrated Data Services Ltd (IDSL), (an Upstream arm of the NNPC) to acquire seismic data in the Benue Trough commencing from the Keana area.

    At the visit to the GMD, the PENGASSAN National President also commended the NNPC GMD for collaborating with other government agencies and critical stakeholders to bring about efficiency in the Petroleum Industry, adding that his efforts has also led to the improved products supply situation being enjoyed in the country.

    Comrade Johnson said the NNPC Management was capable of returning the refineries to profitability while expressing the union’s confidence in the Corporation’s effort in that regard.

    “PENGASSAN will support any effective, efficient and sustainable model that can make the refineries viable,’’ Comrade Johnson said.

    He also called on the GMD to intensify the ongoing rehabilitation of the downstream facilities, especially the depots, pipelines, tank farms and jetties to further ensure seamless supply of products across the country.

    On the Petroleum Industry Bill, the PENGASSAN President emphasized the need for its speedy passage, adding that the unions were ready to collaborate with the National Assembly to resolve knotty issues associated with it.

    Responding, Dr. Baru disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had mandated him and the NNPC Management to bring back the refineries to their glorious days and thanked the unions for their belief in his capability to deliver on the president’s mandate.

    He said funding had been a major challenge in the rehabilitation of the refineries but was however optimistic that the various options being explored would yield positive results.

    The GMD expressed appreciation to the unions for their support in his effort to move the Petroleum Industry forward, while lauding their pragmatic approach to handling issues, saying this has helped to bring about industrial harmony.

    On his part, Chief Operating Officer (COO), Corporate Services, Alhaji Isah Inuwa, urged the unions to continue to work on the part of amity, while assuring them of NNPC management’s readiness to continue to collaborate with them in the overall interest of the Industry and the nation.

  • NUPENG, PENGASSAN back subsidy removal

    NUPENG, PENGASSAN back subsidy removal

    The National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers  (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), have thrown their weight behind the decision of the Federal Government to stop the payment of petrol subsidy.

    Chairmen of NUPENG and PENGASSAN, Comrade Igwe Achese and Comrade Francis Olabode Johnson, respectively, addressing reporters after a joint National Executive Council meeting in Calabar Friday, said, “The deregulation of the sector is what we have been agitating for the past eight years or more. But each time we want to react, Nigerians want to live on the bedrock of lies. And that has been our problem. We have been living on the bedrock of lies. Successive governments come in, what we hear are full of lies. The oil and gas sector must have transparency and it is only when it is transparent that the nation’s economy will beginning to grown and job opportunities would be created.

     “For us our clear position is that the deregulation of the sector and opening of the market is a welcome development. Someone asked me about the price whether it is not too high and I say the price is a secondary issue. The most important thing is that government has come up with a firm stand that would stop payment of subsidy into the hands of few Nigerians. That is the first thing Nigerians must appreciate. It was tried by the past administration and I know what happened. It was politicized. Some members of the political lines took over these issues as if it was their bed right to continue milking the nation’s purse.

     “It is clear that we must deregulate and stop payment of subsidies into the hands of few Nigerians. We must not mortgage the nation’s economy into the hands of few Nigerians. We must open up the system and see how we can now talk about regulation.  The key fundamental issue in the issue of this price modulation is regulation and putting in place the necessary checks and balances that can control the price environment as it is.

     “But government should put in place the mechanism to start negotiation immediately on the minimum wage. It is very key to us. Because you cannot tell us that you are doing this and there are no palliative and one of the key palliative in the Nigerian environment is to renegotiate the minimum wage. Government must move in quickly and do this otherwise there would be a reaction somewhere.”

    In a communiqué issued at the end of the meeting, they commended President Muhammadu Buhari in his fight against corruption and insecurity in the country.

    It read in part, “The NEC in session had an extensive discussion on the recent price modulation. The NEC-in- session is of the view that price deregulation has its benefits in the immediate and near future.

    “However, NEC-in session strongly demands the federal government’s engagement with the stakeholders to work out a clear direction on how to reinvest the gains into the economy to cushion the effect of the price.

     “The NEC-in- session after an exhaustive deliberation of all these resultant effects ,resolve that , there is an urgent need for a paradigm shift and a new direction in the management of new investments and income in the oil and gas industry , but with critical proviso, among which include:

    -Government must ensure optional performance of the existing refineries and also put in place machinery for the construction of new refineries in the country to ensure adequate production for domestic consumption and possibly export.

    -Immediate commencement of negotiation of minimum wage for workers across all cadres.

    -Engagement of critical stakeholders for the federal government to provide a road map for with timelines of the infrastructures it intends to embark upon with the proceeds from this price modulation to cushion the harsh effects of the new direction.

    -Immediate reconstruction of the board of the PPPRA and PEF for the management of the new price regime.

    –The reconstitution and the re-strengthening of relevant agencies such as Standard Organisations of Nigeria (SON) , DPR and the Nigeria Customs and Excise Department to prevent the abuse of the new framework of PMS supply and distributions.