The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Seven Energy

  • Communities protest oil firm’s breach of agreement

    The failure of Frontier Oil Ltd, operators of Seven Energy, in judiciously implementing the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is responsible for the current face-off between it and its host communities – Esit Eket and Ibeno – in Akwa Ibom State.

    Youths of the communities last week embarked on a street protest and barricaded the operational base of the oil firm for reneging on the MoU. According to them, the company underpaid two indigenes in its employ by paying them N70,000 monthly while their colleagues with the same job specifications were paid over N700,000 monthly.

    This disparity, according to the youths, compelled the affected workers to resign. They alleged that the firm, in an attempt to fill the vacant positions, employed non-indigenes without following the due process of placing advertorials in a newspaper.

    It was gathered that the youths have called for the sack of the newly employed persons and the General Manager Wole Adefila.

    The lawmaker representing the area in the House of Assembly, Usoro Akpanusoh, yesterday alleged that the firm defaulted in the implementation of the MoU it entered with the communities.

    He said the disparity was a breach of the MoU.

    According to him, having urged the irate youths to sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue, the company should also uphold what was stated in the MoU.

    He said: “We want the oil company to comply with the demands of the communities. It is all about what they signed and not new agitations, after all, nobody forced them to sign.”

    Read Also: OML 25 protest: Shell seeks peace with host communities

    Asked what would happen if the frontier oil refuses to comply with the communities’ demands, Akpanusoh said “the community will ask them to leave”.

    But the Head of Government and Community Relations of Frontier oil Samuel Atara said that the crisis was because of misinformation and gap in the communication chain. He promised the company would try its best to resolve the crisis.

    He said: “Even in the mouth, you have the teeth, you have the tongue, there is bound to be friction. We are doing our best to resolve the issue. It was a stop gap issue; it’s a relief duty and so we called one of our body shop contractors to send personnel to fill a gap for us and the community took that as an employment. So it was just a kind of misinformation.

    “We needed to bring in just two persons for relief duty from our body shop contractor, so, the community insisted it was an employment that we didn’t pick people from their place, and we say sorry, the MD has cancelled that.”

    Atara hinted that the company had started discussions with the aggrieved youths to resolve the matter.

    “The managing director has apologised to them, and has promised that the company would revoke the “employment”. He has directed that they be given the slot; we are ready to do that as soon as possible. We have given them our corporate apologies and I can assure you that Frontier would do its utmost to resolve the issue amicably. We have opened discussions with them, we have already reached out to them and we are now asking them to provide us with those persons and we will employ.”

  • Seven Energy Joins security, human rights initiative

    Seven Energy International Limited has joined the globally acclaimed ‘Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights’ initiative following its admission into the Corporate Pillar category and becomes the first indigenous firm in the Nigerian oil and gas industry to be accorded such recognition.

    The Voluntary Principles Initiative is a multi-stakeholder initiative involving governments, companies, and non-governmental organisations that promote implementation of a set of principles that guide oil, gas and mining companies on providing security for their operations in a manner that respects human rights. Specifically, the Voluntary Principles guide companies in conducting a comprehensive human rights risk assessment in their engagement with public and private security providers to ensure human rights are respected in the protection of company’s facilities and premises.

    Commenting on the achievement, Chief Executive Officer of the company, Phillip Ihenacho, said: “We are excited that the plenary has approved the application of Seven Energy to join the prestigious Voluntary Principles Initiative after a rigorous selection process. This recognition underscores how we have conducted our operations across our host communities in a manner that promotes public safety and respect for the rights of the people. We remain committed to the development of Nigeria’s gas resource and will continue to support local and national economic growth by operating in a way that recognises and respects the rights and safety of the people impacted by our business.”

    Ihenacho added that over the years, Seven Energy has implemented a number of initiatives such as the Green Team Initiative, which is a community engagement process where community leaders and youths are engaged to maintain and monitor pipeline rights of way, and community enlightenment programmes aimed at ensuring safety of the company’s facilities and those people living within the pipeline rights of way.  Regular interactive sessions are held with the host communities to ensure that their rights and privileges as contained in the various Memoranda of Understanding signed with them are respected.

    The Voluntary Principles are the only human rights guidelines designed specifically for extractive sector companies. The Principles give guidance on risk assessment, public safety and security, protecting human rights, and the interaction between companies and private security.

    The written principles represent a voluntary agreement between participating companies, governments and NGO’s on what steps companies should take in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that encourages respect for human rights.

  • Seven Energy eyes 2.3 tcf of gas

    Seven Energy is targeting 2.3 trillion cubic feet of gas from oil mining leases (OMLs ) 3, 38 and 41 in Benin, the Edo State capital, its Chief Executive Officer, Phillip Ihenacho, has said.

    Seven Energy, an indigenous oil and gas exploration and development firm, and the National Petroleum Development Corporation (NPDC) entered a Strategic Alliance Agreement (SAA) that saw it holding 55 per cent interest in the oil fields, while Seplat Petroleum Development Company, the operator of the assets hold 45 per cent interest.

    This is coming as Seven Energy and Frontier Oil Company partnered to build  the Uquo gas plant, which boasts of 650 billion cubic feet of gas reserves. The facility financed with N90billion sourced from various financial institutions, was inaugurated by President Goodluck Jonathan.

    Ihenacho told The Nation that the average production expected from the fields is  51,600 barrels of oil per day, adding that the gas potential are immense.

    He said: “OMLs, 4, 38, and 41 are part of Seven Energy’s upstream businesses, and the company is expecting 2.3 trillion cubic feet of gas from the fields. The potential in the fields are immense, and we hope to leverage on it to increase supply of gas to users across the value chain for growth. Power generation, fertiliser, and other companies that use natural gas for production will benefit whenever works are completed on the fields. We are working with Seplat in Benin on the issue and we believe that there would be substantial gas investment in the fields. ‘’

    According to him, the country can meet its gas to power needs when investment in gas infrastructure is galvanised.

    “Improving investment in gas pipeline construction will help in transporting the product from the plants to the power and other companies that need it for production.  That has been a major obstacle to the utilisation of gas in the country,” he said.

  • ‘Gas’ll enhance Nigeria’s global relevance

    Nigeria must harness its gas-to-power resource to  attain global relevance in energy sufficiency and accelerated growth, the Chief Technical Officer of Seven Energy, an indigenous oil and gas company, Campbell Airlie, has said.

    He spoke at a forum titled: The changing global energy supply balance and Africa’s economic transformation at the just-concluded 38th Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE).

    He said for Nigeria to achieve its economic goals, it should focus on accelerated development of gas-to-power initiatives because stable power is a catalyst for the growth of every sector of the economy.

    Airlie said in addition to investing more in developing the gas resource, Nigeria needed to improve the skills of indigenous manpower.

    “Nigeria has some of the best gas reservoirs in the world, but what we need now is not just the best technology but good skilled hands to manage the technology. That is why I am very pleased with Nigeria’s transformative thinking in the area of gas development,” he dded.

    He said Seven Energy remained at the forefront of developing gas resources with several investment initiatives According to him, Seven Energy and its wholly owned subsidiary, Accugas, has closed $170 million medium-term acquisition financing with FirstBank of Nigeria (FBN) UK Limited and Ecobank Nigeria Limited to part-finance the acquisition of East Horizon Gas Company Limited.

    Airlie also said the company had continued to invest in the development of the Nigerian workforce to support its growing investment in gas. He said Seven Energy was proud to support NAICE as a demonstration of its commitment to the development of the industry.

    The panel of discussants included the Group Coordinator, Corporate Planning and Strategy, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. Tim Okon who represented the Group Managing Director, Joseph Dawha; Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Lagos State, Taofiq Ajibade Tijani and Chairman, SPE Nigeria Council, Bernard Oboarekpe, among others.

    The NAICE conference with the theme “Africa’s energy corridor; opportunities for oil and gas value maximisation through integration and global approach” attracted hundreds of participants across the industry value chain.

  • Akwa Ibom partners Seven Energy on power supply

    Akwa Ibom State has entered into partnership with Seven Energy, an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas company, to improve power supply in the state.

    The partnership was sealed at the monthly power sector operational stakeholders meeting held in the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Power.

    While addressing the operational stakeholders which consists of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN), Ibom Power, Government and industry representatives, Seven Energy’s Vice President, Operations, Ani Umoren said: “Seven Energy will engage in the partnership through one of its principal subsidiaries, SEPTA Energy Nigeria”

    Umoren noted that the major challenge confronting Akwa Ibom state’s power sector is “how to achieve steady power generation, transmission and distribution to improve profitability”.

    He said the partnership between SEPTA Energy and Akwa Ibom Power sector stakeholders is aimed at addressing this challenge because “part of the objective of the partnership is to deliver continuous power supply in Akwa Ibom State.”

    Speaking further, he explained that “SEPTA Energy is willing to work with Akwa Ibom power stakeholders to ensure that power generated from Ibom Power plant is used to enhance economic activities in the state.”

    He added that the partnership will also provide a roadmap and coordination towards achieving sustainable power in Akwa Ibom state.”

    Responding to the partnership, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Power, Dr. Victor Udo, said: “The partnership is a welcome development because it will help actualise the vision of His Excellency for uninterrupted power supply within the shortest possible time.

    “SEPTA Energy is the supplier of gas to Ibom Power plant, if the gas is supplied and the power generated is successfully transmitted and distributed but the final consumers do not pay their electricity bills it amounts to losses so there is need for proper coordination between the power sector stakeholders. The partnership with SEPTA Energy is a win-win-win situation for the Government, public and private sector.”