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Tag: shell

  • ‘Talks between Shell, oil communities not deadlocked’

    Talks over compensation between Shell Petroleum Development Corporation (SPDC) and Bodo communities in Gokana Local Government of Rivers State, are yet to achieve the desired results, Chairman of Bodo Council, Sylvester Kogbara, has said.

    Bodo communities in Kogana, are among the five kingdoms in Ogoniland. The community and others in Ogoniland have a long history of environmental pollution, occasioned by exploration activities carried out by Shell and other International Oil Companies (IOCs) operating in the Niger Delta region.

    Kogbar, said Bodo and the other communities in Ogoniland have not arrived at a particular compensation fee with Shell.

    He said the communities are still meeting on the issue, adding that they would come out with their own position soon.

    He said: “Neither have we arrived at an agreement over a particular compensation fees nor accepted the proposed $1billion for the cleaning of oil polluted communities in the region. We only agreed that Shell, and other relevant stakeholders should come and clean our land, and not clean up fees.”

    He said the negotiation between Bodo community and Shell has not collapsed as is being reported in some quarters, adding that all hands are on deck to successfully resolve the issue.

    He said: “It is a great shame that the negotiations have not led to a settlement. I had hoped that this week would have seen the end of the litigation and enable us to start the process of rebuilding the community. However, Shell has continued to treat the people of Bodo with the same contempt as they did from the start when they tried in 2009 to buy us off by offering the community the total of £4,000 to settle the claims.

    “We told them in 2009, and we tell them again now, the people of Bodo are a proud and fiercely determined community. Our habitat and income have been destroyed by Shell oil. The claim against Shell will not be resolved until they recognise this and pay us fully and fairly for what they have done.”

    In a related development, a senior partner of the legal firm that represented the Bodo community, Martyn Day, said a post-impact ecological assessment study carried out on the Bodo creek in September 2009 showed severe reduction in the abundance of marine life, with shell fish no longer present and fish numbers dramatically reduced.

    The United Nations Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Environmental Assessment of Ogoniland 2011, had backed up these findings following a survey of the pipelines and visits to all oil spill sites, including the Bodo creek, which showed they had hydrocarbon contamination in water, with some sites to about 1,000 times higher than permitted under Nigerian and international laws.

    Efforts to get Shell’s spokesman, Precious Okolobo, to speak on the issue were unsuccessful as calls made to him were not picked.

  • U.S. shale ambition on, says Shell CEO

    U.S. shale ambition on, says Shell CEO

    Shell CEO Ben van Beurden claims that despite a series of asset sales and costly write-downs, the oil giant is not abandoning the prospect of North American oil and gas shales.

    Shell’s recent reappraisal resulted in a $2billion write-down in book value and plans for Shell to sell hundreds of thousand of US acres.

    He said: “Asset sales have helped the company narrow its focus on fewer projects where Shell can better compete with the smaller oil and gas companies that have dominated US shale development.

    “It’s a different type of game but it’s not best left to the independents. We can play and win at it as well.”

    During a conference speech at Columbia University, Mr van Beurden also proposed that the US should resume exporting oil and embrace global markets.

    Any such resumption would require lifting the longstanding US crude oil export ban in force since the Arab oil embargo in the 19702 s.

  • U.S. shale ambition on, says Shell CEO

    Shell CEO Ben van Beurden claims that despite a series of asset sales and costly write-downs, the oil giant is not abandoning the prospect of North American oil and gas shales.

    Shell’s recent reappraisal resulted in a $2billion write-down in book value and plans for Shell to sell hundreds of thousand of US acres.

    He said: “Asset sales have helped the company narrow its focus on fewer projects where Shell can better compete with the smaller oil and gas companies that have dominated US shale development.

    “It’s a different type of game but it’s not best left to the independents. We can play and win at it as well.”

    During a conference speech at Columbia University, Mr van Beurden also proposed that the US should resume exporting oil and embrace global markets.

    Any such resumption would require lifting the longstanding US crude oil export ban in force since the Arab oil embargo in the 19702 s.

  • Shell eyes $5b from oil block sale

    Shell eyes $5b from oil block sale

    Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell Plc is pushing ahead with its planned sale of its assets to meet its $15 billion target from such transactions between 2014 and 2015.

    The firm said yesterday it had sold four oil fields in Nigeria, in its ongoing global asset sales to cut costs.

    The oil giant last year put up for sale its 30 per cent shares in four oil blocks in the Niger Delta – Oil Mining Licence (OML) 18, 24, 25, 29 – as well as a key pipeline, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.

    “We have signed sales and purchase agreements for some of the Oil Mining Leases, but not all that we are seeking to divest,” a Shell spokesman told Reuters.

    No details were available on the value of the deals signed, nor when the full process will be completed.

    France’s Total and Italy’s Eni are also set to raise revenue from the sale of their 10 per cent and five per cent shares in the assets. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns the remaining 55 per cent.

    The Financial Times on Wednesday reported that Shell is close to selling the assets for about $5 billion to domestic buyers.

    In March, Reuters reported that Nigerian firms – Taleveras and Aiteo—made the highest bid of $2.85 billion for the biggest of the four oil fields, OML 29.

    Shell, along with many other oil majors, is undergoing a broad process of asset sales across the world in an effort to cut costs and boost profits.

    Other companies, including Total, Eni, Chevron and ConocoPhillips have sought to pull out of Nigeria which has been plagued by oil theft.

    The battle for acquisition of these four oil blocks has been raging since the beginning of the year. Some major stakeholders in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry were opposed to some preferred bidders. This is one of the major reasons the deal has not been sealed. The reason for their opposition stems from the alleged inexperience of some of the companies that won the bids.

    Currently, Midwestern Oil and Gas/Mart Resources/Suntrust Oil, under the Erotron Consortium, won the bid for OML 18 while Aiteo/Taleveras in partnership with four other companies made up the consortium that won bid for OML 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunkline. OML 29 is considered the juiciest of the blocks.

    The preferred bidder for OML 24 is Pan Ocean Oil Corporation Nigeria Limited while Lekoil, Crestar, Green Acres/CCC/Signet Petroleum, NDPR/SAPETRO and Essar, as a consortium is being considered for OML 25.

    The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Allison-Madueke, had said that the value of divested assets by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) including Shell, Chevron and Total from onshore, shallow water and offshore terrains, will hit about $11.5 billion by the end of this year.

    She said that before this year ends, at least 20 oil blocks with reserves of not less than four billion barrels of oil equivalent (boe) would have been divested by the multinational oil firms.

    She said: “The divestment in the upstream sector of the oil industry by the IOC’s such as SPDC/Total/Agip, Chevron and ConocoPhillips have continued to create an opportunity for participation in the industry by the Nigerian private sector.

    “The IOCs operating in Nigeria today have divested assets worth about 2.2 billion boe of hydrocarbon reserves (working interest) at an estimated corresponding monetary value of at least $5 billion. The divestment campaign was highly competitive and attracted interest from a number of indigenous and foreign companies.

    “By end of this year, the total number of blocks that are likely to be divested is estimated to exceed 20 with not less than 4 billion boe and a monetary value of about $11.5 billion.”

    Shell also plans to sell OMLs 13, 16, 71 and 72, which are in onshore and shallow water provinces. All the assets are joint venture assets owned by Shell, Eni (Agip) and Total with total interests of 45 per cent when the remaining 55 per cent is owned by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

    The Chief Executive of Shell, Ben van Beurden, in the company’s strategic report said: “In 2014, we will make hard decisions about our next phase of projects. Capital discipline and potential returns will be critical factors in deciding which to take forward to development,” adding that Shell is cutting its capital expenditure from $46 billion last year to around $37 billion this year as it seeks to “moderate its growth ambition in order to free up cash flow.”

    “Shell is shrinking this portfolio and cost base, with 2014 spending to be reduced by 20 per cent compared to 2013, and redirecting onshore investment to the lowest cost gas acreage with the best integration potential, and into ongoing exploration in liquids-rich shales. At the same time, profitable growth should continue in deep-water and heavy oil, where an industry-leading development programme is under way.”

    “From 2014, tight gas and liquids-rich shale will have a different role in our strategy. We now see them as an opportunity for the longer term rather than the immediate future.” He added.

  • Shell sells four Nigerian oil fields

    Shell sells four Nigerian oil fields

    Royal Dutch Shell said on Wednesday it has sold four oil fields in Nigeria, in its ongoing global asset sales to cut costs.

    The oil giant last year put up for sale its 30 percent shares in four oil blocks in the Niger Delta – Oil Mining Licence (OML) 18, 24, 25, 29 – as well as a key pipeline, the Nembe Creek Trunk Line.

    “We have signed sales and purchase agreements for some of the Oil Mining Leases, but not all that we are seeking to divest,” a Shell spokesman told Reuters.

    No details were available on the value of the deals signed, nor when the full process will be completed.

    France’s Total and Italy’s Eni are also set to raise revenue from the sale of their 10 percent and five percent shares in the assets. The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) owns the remaining 55 percent.

    The Financial Times on Wednesday reported that Shell is close to selling the assets for about $5 billion to domestic buyers.

    In March, Reuters reported that Nigerian firms – Taleveras and Aiteo made the highest bid of $2.85 billion for the biggest of the four oil fields, OML 29.

    Shell, along with many other oil majors, is undergoing a broad process of asset sales across the world in an effort to cut costs and boost profits.

    Other companies, including Total, Eni, Chevron and ConocoPhillips have sought to pull out of the oil-rich West African country which has been plagued by oil theft.

  • Group petitions minister on Shell

    Group petitions minister on Shell

    The Niger Delta Pollution Vanguards Movement (NDPVM) has petitioned the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, alleging that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) wants to cancel the Trans Niger Pipeline Loopline Project (TNLP).  It was designed to enhance the operating environment in the region.

    In a letter signed by Alaliboz Nathaniel, Precious Obonima and Paul Alakiri, and addressed to the minister, the body warned that the cancellation of the project would affect the progress of the Niger Delta, considering the deteriorating environmental situation, occasioned by crude oil spillages on the ruptured existing pipeline and the incidence of crude oil theft by persons engaged in illegal bunkering.

    The group said in the letter dated August 7 that the increase in illegal bunkering, which has been enhanced by the existence of ruptured points on the pipeline, is detrimental to the transformation agenda of the President Goodluck  Jonathan administration and its commitment to the stoppage of crude oil theft and increased revenue earnings that are essential for the development of the country.

    The petitioners said: “Our findings revealed that this TNPL project, which is expected to stop environmental degradation and illegal bunkering, may not see the light of the day in view of Shell’s ill-conceived efforts and plans to cancel the project.”

  • Shell states actions on UNEP report

    Three years on from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report’s publication, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of a joint venture (SPDC JV) between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporatio (NNPC), SPDC, Total E&P Nigeria Limited and Nigerian Agip Oil Company, has made progress in addressing all the recommendations directed to it in that publication.

    SPDC’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Precious Okolobo, in a statement noted that majority of UNEP’s recommendations require multi-stakeholder efforts coordinated by the Federal Government.

    He  however said it is important to emphasise that neither SPDC nor any other stakeholder is in a position to implement the entirety of UNEP’s recommendations unilaterally. The UNEP report stated: “Treating the problem of environmental contamination within Ogoniland merely as a technical clean-up exercise would ultimately lead to failure. Ensuring long-term sustainability is a much bigger challenge – one that will require coordinated and collaborative action from all stakeholders.”

    SPDC has an activity programme in place, focused on delivering improvements in the environmental and community health situation on the ground. “We continue to work with the government, communities and a number of constructive NGOs and civil society groups in the Niger Delta to accelerate progress,” Okolobo added.

  • N500m Shell donation divides community

    N500m Shell donation divides community

    Members of the Oloma community in Bonny Local Government Area of Rivers State are quarrelling over a N500 million donation by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to the community fund.

    The Nation learnt that youths, women and groups  are preparing for a showdown with the leadership of the Oloma Council of Elders over the alleged misappropriation of the money from the oil giant.

    The Secretary-General of Oloma community, Warisenibo Gabriel Godwin, has written to the SPDC management, accusing the Chairman of Oloma Council of Elders, Sir Amarigha Edward Hart, of misappropriating hundreds of millions of naira.

    Godwin, who is also the secretary of the Project Community Trust (P-CT), also accused Hart of assuming the status of “a demi-god” in the community, acting with impunity and threatening the running of the community’s organisation.

    In the letter, he called for  SPDCs intervention to avert the breach of peace in the community.

    Decrying Hart’s leadership style, the secretary said as an oil bearing community, SPDC pays certain funds as part of its Global Project memorandum of understanding.

    He said details of such payments are not only kept secret to members, but are also kept away from him.

    Godwin said SPDC deals with Hart alone, through one of its workers (name withheld), thereby ignoring the statutes of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU), reached between the Oloma community and the oil giant (SPDC).

    One of the aides to Hart denied the allegation, saying: “We will speak when the time is ripe. But take it from me that Oloma community is calm and peaceful as we speak.”

  • Shell promotes split clamps

    It was a heap of accolades for the oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), in Bayelsa State. The Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) and other players in the petroleum sector praised Shell for pioneering and expanding the frontiers of local participation in the oil and gas sector.

    The event revolved around Egba split clamps, the first indigenous split-sleeve clamps proudly produced in Nigeria by Egba Split Clamps Limited.

    Niger Delta Report discovered that the split clamp market is a busy one. Clamps are used by oil multinationals to temporarily stop spillage of oil from sabotaged or ruptured pipelines. It is a quick measure used to avert pollution of the environment at a spill site pending permanent repairs of the compromised point.

    Therefore, the split clamp is hot cake especially for oil multinationals operating in the Niger Delta region because of the rising incidences of pipeline vandalism and illegal bunkering. It was learnt that most companies source their clamps from European and Asian countries. So, all the clamps used in Nigeria are imported.

    But the story is expected to change following the discovery of Egba split clamps by SPDC. The local clamp was brought to limelight in a local content day exhibition organised by SPDC in 2009. Shell discovered Egba and since then the company has taken many steps to develop and make it the most sought-after clamp in Nigeria.

    SPDC is sponsoring the company’s professional certification to international standard. SPDC brought the Shell Global Solutions (SGS) from Amsterdam to Lagos to carry out pressure testing and inspection of Egba split clams.

     The oil company also facilitated a forum where Egba presented its clamps to the NCDMB in Yenagoa. The Executive Secretary of the board, Mr. Ernest Nwakpa received Egba and SPDC.

    The General Manager of Shell, Mr. Igo Weli, said SPDC had placed an order for six of the clamps to help the Egba update its certification which was concluded recently. He said after perfecting contractual documents, SPDC would consider placing the local manufacturer on a long-term contract of supplying the clamps.

  • Shell raises alarm on oil theft in Bayelsa

    Shell raises alarm on oil theft in Bayelsa

    Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) raised the alarm yesterday on rising crude oil theft in Okordia/Ikarama, Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    Its Media Relations Manager, Precious Okolobo, lamented that the communities had become notorious for illegal bunkering and other forms of oil theft.

    He said 11 crude thefts occurred in Ikarama and Okordia  this year.

    Okolobo said the latest incident, which happened on June 11, resulted in the spillage of 600 barrels of oil into the environment.

    Explaining how the incident occurred, he said: “The Joint Investigation Visit (JIV), comprising representatives of the community, government regulators and security agents, government and SPDC officials established that unknown persons removed a valve at the manifold, causing a spill of about 600 barrels of oil.

    “SPDC is concerned about rising crude theft activities in Okordia/Ikarama. The SPDC JV is concerned at the increasing trend of oil spills caused by third party activities in Okordia and Ikarama axis of Bayelsa State, where 11 sabotage and crude theft incidents have been recorded so far this year.”