The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited

  • Shell pays Fed Govt, agencies $6.397b

    Over $6.397 billion was paid to the Federal Government and its agencies in 2018 by Shell exploration and production companies in Nigeria, The Nation has learnt.

    In the group are Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo).

    The payment represents a 48 per cent increase overpayments ($4.322 billion) by the companies.

    The facts formed part of the four documents released yesterday by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Dutch Shell, Ben Van Beurden, to signal the firm’s renewed commitment to greater transparency.

    The documents are “Shell Sustainability Report”; “Industry Associations Climate Review”; “Nigeria Briefing Notes”; and “Payments to Government”.

    Read also: Shell: why we signed contractor support fund with banks

    “Shell must remain at the forefront of the drive for greater corporate transparency. We will continue to be more open about what we do and why we do it,” said van Beurden, adding: “We want to help people better understand Shell’s performance, values and principles. These reports outline our approach and activities in the crucial areas of sustainability and our relationships with industry associations and governments.”

    In the breakdown of the 2018 payments, the Shell companies paid $3.776 billion to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation as production entitlement while $1.286 billion was paid in taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

    Another $1.253 billion went to the Department of Petroleum Resources for royalties and fees, while $81.5 million was remitted to the Niger Delta Development Commission.

    SPDC Managing Director and Country Shell Companies in Nigeria chair Osagie Okunbor, described the reports as a further testament to Shell’s efforts to increase transparency around activities that are important to investors, governments and civil society.

    “We are irrevocably committed to transparency just as we are to business integrity part of our core values and central tenets of the Business Principles that govern the way we do business,” Okunbo said.

    The Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes detail the activities of the Shell Companies in Nigeria for 2018. These include production, environmental performance, social investment, economic contributions, gas initiatives, deepwater operations, security and Nigerian content development.

    The Industry Associations Climate Review assesses for the first time Shell’s alignment with 19 key industry associations on climate-related policy. The report also details new governance principles to improve how Shell manages its memberships of industry associations on climate-related topics.

    The 22nd edition of the Shell Sustainability Report outlines Shell’s approach to sustainability and covers its social, safety and environmental performance in 2018. It sets out how Shell is playing a role in the transition to a lower-carbon world and its contribution to society, which includes helping to achieve universal access to cleaner, affordable energy.

    In addition, Shell published its 2018 Payments to Governments Report covering 34 countries where it has extractive activities.

  • Shell, UBA sign $200m contractor support fund

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has signed a contractor support fund of $200 million with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) to boost the financial capacity of its vendors and suppliers,

    With the UBA agreement, SPDC’s total contractor support fund has hit $2.4 billion.

    SPDC’s Director and General Manager, Government and Business Relations, Bashir Bello, who signed the $200 million Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Bank for Africa (UBA) in Abuja at the weekend, described the initiative as a product of the continuous effort by SPDC and its joint venture partners – NNPC, Total and Agip – to enhance Nigerian content and local participation in the nation’s oil and gas value chain.

    The fund provides support for contractors to finance projects executed for Shell companies in Nigeria in line with the aspirations of the Nigerian Content Act. To access the fund, the contractors must have a valid purchase order and meet the bank’s risk assessment criteria.

    “Findings indicate that lack of access to capital hinders many Nigerian companies from competing for and executing contracts effectively” said Bello who signed the deal on behalf of SPDC.

    “This funding will enable us to achieve our community content ambition of increasing participation of host communities in the SPDC value chain,” he added.

    The General Manager Energy Bank of UBA, Ebele Ogbue, said the bank was committed to providing support to Nigerian companies through its partnership with SPDC JV. Ogbue, who signed the MoU for UBA, commended the national and community content efforts of Shell companies in Nigeria, noting that UBA was ready to provide the needed financial backing that would empower Nigerian companies to play more active role in the country’s energy sector and beyond.

    The Shell Contractor Funding Scheme started in 2011 with the Shell Kobo Fund, which gave rise to the Shell Contractor Support Fund in 2012. The scheme has been redesigned to address the current economic exigencies and to align it with stakeholder needs by merging the two initial initiatives. In 2016, Shell signed a $2.2 billion MoU with seven Nigerian banks that have since then disbursed around $1.5 billion loans to about 372 small- and medium-sized Nigerian suppliers and vendors in the oil and gas industry.

  • Bringing life back to war-torn Rivers community

    The Headmaster of State School 2, Nvakaohia-Rumuekpe in Emohua Local Government Area of Rivers State, Chief Edward Anthony, gave an idea of what the ancient community had passed through, in spite of hosting four oil companies: Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited (TEPNG), Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Limited (NDPR).

    Anthony, at the inauguration on June 21 of six-classroom block built by Total oil giant for the school, said: “My effusion of unmitigated joy and happiness on this occasion is predicated on the singular fact that some years ago, precisely between June 2005 and October 2008, the continued existence of Rumuekpe was severely threatened in the wake of cult war that rocked the community.

    “To God be the glory, we can now boldly assert that healing, peace, unity, progress and prosperity have returned to our land. Since we came back from exile, Total oil company has helped us in so many ways. Erection of the six-classroom block has rekindled a new hope for education to the parents and the pupils.”

    The headmaster also pleaded for fencing of the school, provision of electricity, water, school band, desks, chairs and tables to facilitate teaching and learning, as well as to provide school bus to convey the pupils, especially during the rainy season, and incentives for the teachers to motivate them, while assuring that the provided facilities would be well protected.

    In Rumuekpe, Total oil firm also provided a block of six classrooms for the Community Secondary School and built two blocks of lock-up shops in Imogu-Nvakaohia. The Ovelle-Nvakaohia Ancestral Hall and two blocks of open shops in Ovelle-Nvakaohia were equally constructed by the oil giant, as part of its corporate social responsibility to one its host communities in the Niger Delta.

    The Junior Principal of Community Secondary School, Rumuekpe, Friday Welenya, who was accompanied by the Senior Principal, Collins Didia, described education as a tool for development and generation of manpower.

    Welenya disclosed that the oil company earlier provided for the Community Secondary School, reading desks, executive chairs and book shelves for teachers, while urging the firm to still assist the school in the provision of desks for the students, assembly hall, mowing machine, science equipment, library, school van, ICT centre, generator, ceiling fans for classrooms, fencing of the school and payment of volunteer workers.

    The representative of Rumuekpe in Total oil company, Richard Ajuru, in his welcome address at the inauguration of projects initiated and completed under the negotiated Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), revealed that the event was the first of its kind in the community.

    He noted that besides the five inaugurated projects in Rumuekpe, the Total oil giant was also embarking on three major projects in the community, which according to him, had reached 70 per cent level of completion, namely: Ekwutche-Nvakaohia Health Centre, Imogu-Nvakaohia Town Hall and Ovelle-Nvakaohia Civic Centre.

    Ajuru said: “It is noteworthy to state that Nvakaohia community, Rumuekpe plays host to four major international oil companies. It is heartwarming to inform that among the multinationals operating in Rumuekpe community, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited is second to none. Its operations have been smooth and peaceful, its policies have been developmental, environmental and people friendly.

    “We wish to sincerely thank the management and staff of Total oil firm for the neutral role they played and the supportive role they displayed during and after the fratricidal crisis that decimated lives and property of unquantifiable value in Rumuekpe from 2005 to 2009.”

    Representative of Rumuekpe in Total oil firm also stated that the people of the community would not have been out of the crisis, but for Total’s supportive roles in the provision of potable water, grading of the access roads and making available other relief materials, while condemning the incessant blasting of the oil company’s pipelines and assured that the few criminals involved in the dastardly act would be apprehended and handed over to the security agencies.

    The Deputy Managing Director, Port Harcourt District of Total, Mr. Francois Le-Cocq, in his address on the occasion, which was spiced up with cultural displays by students of the benefiting schools, men and women of Rumuekpe, as well as traditional wrestling by men of the community, stated that the use of the provided facilities in Rumuekpe would satisfy some identified needs and aspirations of the people, as well as greatly enhancing communal well-being.

    Le-Cocq, who was represented by the oil giant’s Advisor, Community Affairs and Development, Enefiok Peter Akpan, said: “We are aware of the scale of devastation of social and physical infrastructures within Rumuekpe, as a result of the past communal crisis. This caused the children to be attending schools in neighbouring communities like Elele, which is about ten kilometres away. Completion of the projects will ensure that the children will now attend schools in the comfort of their homes.

    “It is very important to note that each of the projects was nominated by Rumuekpe community, within the scope of the 2012 to 2016 MoU with TEPNG, and each project was conceived to address specific deficiencies in social infrastructure within the community.

    “There is the need for us to maintain peace in our communities, because peace is the oxygen that nurtures development in all climes. It is for this reason that the MoU between TEPNG and its host communities explicitly demands that communities should provide peaceful ambience for the company to operate its business, in order to earn resources to fulfil its MoU commitments.”

    Deputy Managing Director, Port Harcourt District of Total also reiterated that whereas the oil firm was striving to fulfil its MoU commitments to the people of Rumuekpe, but regretted that the oil giant had not enjoyed the envisaged peaceful ambience to operate, with the company’s physical assets and facilities in the community being persistently impaired through vandalism.

    He noted that the vandalism had caused disruptions to the oil firm’s operations, weakened the integrity of the facilities, inflicted huge financial losses to the company and most importantly, it adversely degraded the environment and the host community’s sources of livelihood.

    Le-Cocq lauded the community vendors that executed the projects, which he described as a testament to their abilities to perform creditably, when given the opportunity within the context of the local content policy.

    In order to ensure commensurate development of the Niger Delta, other multinationals should emulate Total oil firm and people of the warring communities should give peace a chance, while the errant youths should also put an end to pipeline vandalism and other criminal activities.

  • Shell set to deliver 624MW to national grid

    Afam VI power plant in Rivers State is ready to deliver its net dependable capacity of 624MW into the Nigerian national grid barring any regulator’s restrictions, even at a time power generation has suffered a deep plunge following reported outage of some thermal power stations.

    Managing Director of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, told newsmen in Abuja  that the SPDC Joint Venture-owned combined cycle power plant is ably maintained to consistently deliver its net dependable capacity of 624MW from an installed capacity of 650MW with its three gas turbines and one steam turbine.

    “In 2017 alone, Afam VI supplied approximately 14 per cent of Nigerian’s grid-connected electricity and the plant has delivered over 25.97 Trillion Watt-Hour of electricity into the Nigerian grid in the last 10 years,” Okunbor said. “What is most exciting is that the plant has achieved this milestone while also touching the lives of community people and helping youths to acquire key engineering skills.”

    Read Also: Shell urges contractors on safety

    According to him, the operations at Afam VI have generated subcontract opportunities and employment for over 150 people from the 16 host communities. It also provided hands-on and offshore training for 30 youths in Electrical, Mechanical and Instrumentation engineering on Combined Cycle Power Plant operations and maintenance. All the trainees are employable in the Nigerian power industry.

    The power plant also won the Best Company in Climate Action Award in the 2016 edition of Sustainability, Enterprise, Responsibility Awards for Corporate Social Responsibility (SERAs–CSR), an annual event to celebrate organisations that invest resources to improve the socio-economic living conditions of people in Nigeria and Africa.

    Afam VI uses combined cycle gas turbine technology that burns 40 percent less gas than plants using older open cycle technologies. This also contributes significantly to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

    In November 2017, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission renewed SPDC JV’s Afam VI power generation licence for another 10 years, and in December 2017, the company signed an interim multi-year agreement with General Electric to improve the power plant’s availability, reliability and output for up to 200,000 Nigerian homes, while decreasing its operational costs.

    The agreement covered planned maintenance for the four turbines and upgrade of the gas turbines to help increase the plant capacity by up to 30MW while increasing its efficiency and significantly saving fuel and reducing CO2 emissions.

    As a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project under the United Nations Executive Board for Climate Change, Afam VI Power Plant targets to eliminate over 500,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year, while also maintaining excellent safety standards.

    Located in Afam village in Oyigbo Local Government Area, the plant receives gas from SPDC JV’s gas plant at neighbouring Okoloma village.

  • SPDC contains leaks on Trans Ramos Pipeline

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) has confirmed four leak points on its 24″ Trans Ramos Pipeline in the swamps of Western Niger Delta, said a statement by a spokesperson for the company over the weekend.

    According to the statement, as soon as the leaks were noticed on April 24, SPDC immediately shut down production, deployed containment booms and mobilised its oil spill response teams to clean the sites. These measures, according to SPDC’s standard operating procedures, successfully stopped and contained the spill.

    “In line with Nigerian oil and gas industry regulations, a Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) team comprising security and regulatory agencies as well as community representatives and SPDC personnel was constituted and deployed in the sites,” the statement added.

    The JIV team confirmed four leak points on the pipeline and identified the impacted areas in Odimodi community.

    Meanwhile, the cause of the leaks is yet to be determined as SPDC is said to be working on further site preparation and mobilisation of specialised equipment to the swamps for safe excavation of the pipeline for inspection.

    The JIV team is expected to return to the sites as soon as possible to complete the investigation process.

  • ‘Ogoni people’ll never allow resumption of oil production, without broad discussion’

    Ogoni people in the four Local Government Areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme of Rivers State have declared that they will never allow resumption of oil production in the marginalised area, without broad-based discussion with the masses of Ogoni people.

    They called on the Federal Government to initiate the broad-based discussion with Ogoni people, by urgently setting up a proper mechanism for engagement that would recognise the critical parties to the Ogoni conflict: the Federal Government, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and the Ogoni people, as equal partners in finding lasting solutions to the crude oil-induced conflict.

    These were contained in a communiqué issued yesterday at the end of a special Ogoni congress, held at the Peace and Freedom Centre, Bori, the traditional headquarters of Ogoniland.

    The congress was called by the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP), with the communique signed by MOSOP President, Chief Legborsi Saro Pyagbara, and the congress was attended by many Ogoni women, youths, politicians, activists, traditional rulers and Ogoni professionals.

    Ogoni people stressed that they welcomed the reconciliatory efforts being facilitated among different groups in Ogoniland, while urging every Ogoni person to work for the greater unity and peace in the area.

    The communique read in part: “Congress urges the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) to make public its work programme, implementation plans and budgets through a dedicated portal and website for proper and appropriate information delivery to enable the community and other stakeholders to monitor and follow-up on the implementation of the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland.

    “While congress appreciates the medical outreach programme being embarked upon by HYPREP and appeals for its continuous expansion to other areas, congress  calls on HYPREP to move to fully carry out the health study and medical evaluation of every Ogoni person, as recommended by the report.

    “Besides the health component, HYPREP should immediately embark on the implementation of other emergency measures, particularly as it relates to provision of water and vigorous commitment to the implementation of the livelihood-restoration programme for the youth and women.

    “Congress welcomes the ceremonial signing of the Ogoni Trust Fund Escrow Agreement on April 27, 2018 at the Presidenrial Villa, Abuja, in the presence of the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo (SAN).”

    Ogoni people also called on the contributing partners to immediately follow-up the Abuja’s signing ceremony with making available their respective contributions into the Ogoni trust fund escrow account, without further delay.

    SPDC was sent packing from Ogoniland in 1993, while the renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha. Shell is yet to be allowed to return to Ogoniland, after 25 years.

  • MOSOP wants Buhari to address injustice, marginalization in Ogoniland

    The Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately address the injustice and marginalisation in Ogoniland, in order to put an end to the neglect of many years.

    MOSOP on Thursday in Port Harcourt, through its Publicity Secretary, Fegalo Nsuke, also expressed displeasure over the Federal Government’s inability to commence the clean-up of Ogoniland and the full implementation of the recommendations contained in the report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the environmental assessment of Ogoniland.

    It noted that with the August 4, 2011 submission of the UNEP report to the then President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja, it was expected that almost seven years after, the actual clean-up of Ogoniland ought to have started, considering the assurances given by President Buhari and the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, during his last visit to Ogoniland about two years ago.

    Ogoni people in the four Local Government Areas of Khana, Gokana, Tai and Eleme declared that they were not happy over the inaction on the Ogoni clean-up and other recommendations in the UNEP report.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people said: “At the inception of the administration of President Buhari, we (Ogoni people) had anticipated some relief for the Ogoni people, not only because the new President had during his campaign in 2015 pledged to ensure the clean-up of Ogoniland and fully implement the recommendations contained in the UNEP report, but we expected that the clean-up would open discussions on crucial issues affecting the Ogoni people, especially the political right to self determination.

    “We had hope that President Buhari’s integrity, based on what we had heard about him and his uprightness, would not be compromised. We were actually optimistic of a renewed commitment to resolving the Ogoni problems.

    “We were sure that President Buhari was aware that in over 30 years of oil exploration in Ogoniland, an estimated $81 billion had been generated from the area, excluding the huge gas potential of Ogoniland, the revenue from the two seaports, two refineries, a petrochemical complex and two power stations in the area, but Ogoniland has no water, electricity, roads and other social amenities.

    “The Ogoni experience clearly shows the injustice in Nigeria. The shame is that rather than address the injustice, the Federal Government of Nigeria is attempting to deceive the world about the true situation in Ogoniland. Today in Ogoniland, some villages bury as many as 13 persons in a week, because of pollution caused by exploration and exploitation of crude oil and gas since 1958.

    “The Federal Government of Nigeria is not bothered about the pathetic situation in Ogoniland, but still pushing for resumption of oil production in Ogoniland, over 25 years after Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) was sent packing from the area. Nigeria government’s primary interest is the Ogoni oil and not the safety and future of the people.”

    MOSOP also stated that it was demanding justice, fairness and equity peacefully and non-violently, while noting that the peace-loving Ogoni people were being pushed to the wall.

    It maintained that Ogoni State was not negotiable, stressing that the new state would deliver social equality and justice for the people, thereby allowing Ogoni people to set their priorities and developmental needs.

    The umbrella organisation of Ogoni people assured that the determined people of Ogoniland would never surrender to an oppressive Nigerian government.

    It will be recalled that the renowned environmentalist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged at the Port Harcourt Prisons on November 10, 1995, during the regime of the late Gen. Sani Abacha.