The Nation Newspaper

Tag: shell

  • Shell begins health insurance scheme for Bayelsa community

    Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has commenced a comprehensive health insurance scheme to make health care accessible for the people of Nembe community, Bayelsa State.

    The initiative was inaugurated on Friday in collaboration with the Nembe Community Development Foundation (NCDF).

    Prior to the scheme, the company spent over N170m to upgrade the Nembe General Hospital.

    Managing Director, Shell, Mr. Mutiu Sumonu, who was represented by the SPDC’s Regional Community Health Manager, Mr. Babatunde Fakunle, said it was a health financing model that provided quality, accessible and affordable health care to communities.

    He said: “The Community Health Insurance Scheme eliminates the high

    out-of-pocket medical expenses which is a primary deterrent to seeking

    health care.

    “The inauguration of the Nembe CHIS today is a result of the successful pilot community health insurance scheme that was initiated in March 2010 at Obio Cottage Hospital, Port-Harcourt. This scheme is driven through the Global Memorandum of Understanding.”

    He said that the general hospital had undergone a major facelift while the SPDC had also undertaken the training of hospital personnel in readiness for the insurance scheme.

    “We are proud to celebrate with the great people of Nembe on the inauguration of the NCHIS and the renovation of the general hospital.

    “I believe these investments will bring affordable health care services to the participating communities and improve the standard of living,” Sumonu said.

     

     

     

    Commissioner for Health, Bayelsa, Mr. Anuperere Awoli, said the scheme was instituted to make health care affordable for the people.

    He also urged the communities to patronise the hospital by taking advantage of the insurance scheme.

     

    In his remarks, Chairman, NCDF, Chief Young Dede, said the scheme would help to eliminate common diseases and ailments detected in the area such as typhoid fever, toothache, general body pains, arthritis, cancer, among others.

     

    He said the scheme received wide support, stressing that the development encouraged SPDC to appoint health management officials.

     

    According to him, more than 6,000 would-be beneficiaries had registered for the insurance scheme.

     

    “The premium expected to be paid by an individual to access the scheme is N7,500 but this has been heavily subsidized by the NCDF to the tune of N6,000 leaving the sum of N1,500 to be paid per year by beneficiaries,” he said.

  • Shell hosts scholarship beneficiaries

    Over 14, 000 beneficiaries of scholarships of the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) have been hosted to a lavish party at the Civic Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos.

    The event was the maiden edition of its Shell Scholars’Forum, which the organisers described as an opportunity for stocktaking.

    Going down memory lane, the managing director of SPDC, Mr Mutiu Sunmonu, said the history of the scholarship scheme predates Nigeria’s independence, when Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta region.

    He said: “In the area of education, the SPDC has contributed immensely to the development of the sector and Nigerians, through scholarship awards. This is not a new strategy. In fact, the scholarship awards commenced around the same time that Shell first discovered crude oil in Nigeria in the 1950s. At that time, the awards were mainly for science-based courses, which were tenable in institutions of higher learning both within and outside Nigeria. This created an opportunity for thousands of Nigerians to acquire and develop various skills and expertise needed for our national development.

    “Since its inception, there have been over 14,000 shell scholars. I am proud and honoured that many of them are present here today. These individuals have made significant contributions in their various endeavours and to the socio-economic development of this nation.”

    Sunmonu also said over the years, SDPC has expanded the scope of the scholarships to include Cradle-to-Career, a scheme that provides quality private secondary education scholarships to brilliant but indigent pupils from the Niger Delta region. He said the scheme received special recognition from the United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki Moon, for targeting children who may never have had the opportunity of a private education.

    Chairman of the occasion and former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (rtd), said the modest contributions of SPDC to the development of human capital has paid off with the increasing number of well-trained Nigerians who occupy positions of authority in practically every sphere of life.

    He said: “What I find quite interesting about this event is the intriguing nature of the SPDC initiative: first, Shell picked some of the brightest and best of Nigerian talents and offered them a platform to meet the challenges of nation building. Next, the beneficiaries excelled in their various fields of human endeavour and have become what, in Nigeria, we call ‘Big Men’. Now, shell is bringing all the big and old people and the young people together under a network to respond to a call to give back to society.”

    Director and Country Representative of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), Prof Hassana Alidou, delivered the keynote address: Elaborating a post-2015 education strategy:Touching the unreached.

    Those who received awards include His Royal Majesty Edmund Daukoru, Funsho Kupolukun, Mr Greg Ogbeifun and Mr Basil Omiyi.

     

  • Group seeks law for extractive industries

    Agroup, CSR-in-Action, has called on policy makers and stakeholders to ensure that the right legal frameworks are put in place in the extractive industries.

    The Executive Director, CSR-in-Action, Bekeme Masade, told reporters in Lagos that the efforts to sustain the industries had become imperative because of the major constraints to sustainability in the sector derived from the ever-increasing demand for natural resources, consumption of resources especially energy and water needed to extract and process metals, and the increasing environmental pollution and degradation generated by the extraction process.

    She said: “There is no gainsaying that activities carried out in the process of extracting raw materials have huge negative environmental and social impact on the lives of those in the local communities. Therefore, the enactment of legislation such as the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative Act (NEITI) 2007, was a step in the right direction towards regulating transparency and accountability and on a larger note poverty reduction. There is the need for a revisit of the initiative in the form of strengthening its mandates and processes and this requires the collaboration of multiple stakeholders.”

    She also said: “We are excited to have Shell, Seven Energy and Statoil sponsor this year’s event.”

    In view of the need for multiple stakeholders’collaboration, Masade said the group would organise its second seminar with the theme Sustainability in the Extractive Industries (SITEI),” on Thursday in Lagos.

    The sub-theme of the seminar is Policy, affirmative action and sustained growth.

     

     

    The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Musa Mohammed Sada; former Vice President, World Bank, African Region, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili; Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, George Osahon; Executive Director, Africa Progress Panel, Caroline Kende-Robb; Executive Secretary, NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed and Director-General, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, Frank Nweke Jr., are being expected at the event.

     

  • Shell hit by refining costs

    Shell hit by refining costs

    Royal Dutch Shell’s third-quarter profits undershot analysts’ forecasts last Thursday as a weak refining environment and production losses due to disruption in Nigeria weighed on its performance.

    Third-quarter earnings excluding identified items and on a current cost of supply basis came in at $4.5 billion compared with a forecast range of between $4.9 and $5.1 billion and down from $6.6 billion a year ago.

    Chief Executive Peter Voser, who steps down from the western world’s number three oil company at the end of the year, said actions taken during the quarter “underline our commitment to shareholder returns”, echoing an industry theme for the quarter as the sector underperforms the broader market.

    The massive drop in Shell’s profits was led by the significantly weaker industry refining conditions that have been widely flagged by the company and others in the industry.

    Rising costs in both production and finding operations in the main oil and gas division were also a major factor in the weaker results, along with production volume impacts from maintenance and asset replacement activities.

    The fall also reflected the impact of pipeline outages in Nigeria, much of which Shell puts down to sabotage and theft, and lower dividends from a liquefied natural gas venture.

    The Nigeria outage cost Shell 65,000 barrels a day worth of production. Total oil and gas output for the quarter was 2.931 million barrels of oil equivalent, down 2 percent on third quarter 2012 figures.

    On the upside, Shell benefited from higher contributions from chemicals and increased underlying upstream production volumes, led by integrated gas.

    Voser surprised investors by announcing an early retirement from his role earlier this year. He will be replaced by Ben van Beurden in January.

     

  • Shell lifts force majeure on Bonny Light exports

    Shell lifts force majeure on Bonny Light exports

    Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria has lifted the force majeure, or suspension on Bonny Light exports, following the repair of recent spill points on the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), its spokesman, Precious Okolobo has said.

    Okolobo, in a statement, said the company declared force majeure on October 10 as a result of production deferment from the spills that were recorded on the 24-inch line of the Trans Niger Pipeline at B-Dere and Nonwa-Tai.

    The statement said: ‘’Production was switched to the 28-inch line of the TNP, which was also briefly shut for repair following a fire at Patrick Waterside, Bodo and reopened on October 16. Repair of the 24-inch line is progressing and it remains shut in,

    “Joint investigation of the spills has now been completed, coupled with reports from stakeholders including representatives of the Ministry of Finance, Shell Petroleum Development Company, security agencies and communities. While the spill at B-Dere came from a hole drilled by unknown persons,it was confirmed that pipeline failure was responsible for the incident at Nonwa-Tai. About 2,200 barrels of oil were spilled, of which more than 1,500 barrels have since been recovered.”

  • Shell, communities disagree on compensation

    Shell, communities disagree on compensation

    Controversy has continued to trail the compensation agreement between the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and some oil ravaged communities in the Niger Delta.

    Shell, through its spokesman, Precious Okolobo, said it would only pay lawful compensation to communities affected by oil spillage in Rivers State. The company would be fair in paying damages to communities that have suffered environmental degradation as a result of oil spillage, he said.

    He said the company has not been able to provide compensation to members of the Bodo community because the matter is in court.

    “Be informed that Bodo oil spill is the subject of court suits in Nigeria and the United Kingdom, and as much as SPDC desires to pay fair and lawful compensation, we can only begin to do so when the court proceedings are over.”

    But the affected communities, Bodo, K dere, Goi and Kpor have decried the attitude of Shell towards paying compensation to them, claiming that the company is playing politics with their future.

    The Director of Programmes, Centre for Environment and Human Rights, Steven Obodoekwe, who is from Bodo, said litigations would not have arisen if Shell had conformed to the rules that people who suffer from oil pollution, among other hazards, must be paid compensation as early as possible.

    He said the communities resorted to legal action because Shell reneged on its promise to adequately compensate them, noting that Shell’s refusal to pay compensation was part of its agenda to continue to deny the oil communities of their entitlements.

    ‘‘Some of the communities are not aware of the moves to compensate them. The Bodo case is back in a London court because Shell was planning to pay the community a meagre amount of money. Shell is fund of blaming oil spillage among other untoward practices in the region on saboteurs because it wants to evade its responsibility of paying for damages,’’ he said.

    Also, the President, Movement for the Emancipation of Ogoni People (Mosop), Legbosi Pyagbara said the communities and Shell were unable to reach agreement on the issue of compensation.

    Mosop said the communities have asked for a review of the compensation scheme, following the decision of Shell to pay them a meagre amount of money.

    ‘’Shell has accepted liability as regards Bodo community a few years ago. Up till now, the company has not paid the community. Some communities have filed a case against Shell in Netherlands because they are unable to receive compensation. The communities have realised that they cannot achieve anything with the money Shell is planning to pay them.

    ‘’For instance, when a man whose land was destroyed was offered between N100,000 and N200,000, what is he going to do with the money. In real terms, what Shell offered is below the value of the crops that were destroyed by oil,’’ Mosop stated.

  • Why Chevron, Shell quit OKLNG project, by Amosun

    Why Chevron, Shell quit OKLNG project, by Amosun

    Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has shed light on why two oil giants, Chevron and Shell Petroleum, pulled out of the Olokola Liquefied Natural Gas (OKLNG) Project.

    Amosun, who addressed reporters in Abeokuta after a meeting with members of the Ogun Elders’ Consultative Forum that visited him on Monday, said both firms must have pulled out of the multi-billion dollar project apparently due to the expertise and quantum of investments the Dangote Group and other indigenous entrepreneurs are bringing into the Olokola Free Trade Zone (OKFTZ).

    The massive investment and expertise which the indigenous investors, such as Aliko Dangote, Jim Ovia and others, are planning for Olokola FTZ sent away the foreign investors away, he stressed, adding that the Refinery and Petrol-Chemical project would soon start operation in full force.

    He said other local investors, are planning to build fertiliser and amonia plants in the area, stating that about 90 per cent of what is being done in Olokola FTZ, falls within the jurisdiction of Ogun State, just as neighbouring Ondo State is also playing a role in the project.

    He said: “May be you don’t understand this, it’s not only Chevron, there are about four, or five parties and because they have realised that nothing was happening then, and now, they’ve realised, yes Alhaji Aliko Dangote and us as a state that some of the people that are there have actually been bought over, that I can confirm to you.

    “And what will Chevron be doing there when of course, there are big players as well, the gentleman that is building the Refinery is not a novice; he will get the best in the world to come and build it and it’s like what he is doing is a direct competition with Chevron, so if he is doing it, so how?”

    He continued: “Look at the quantum of money being invested there; it is even far more than, probably more than ten times what Chevron wanted to invest there.

    “Let me even be modest and say that almost all 90 per cent of what is being done now in Olokola falls directly within Ogun state. If you look at the bigger picture, it is between Ogun and Ondo states, but not that probably we will still not go and may be do phase two with Ondo state.

    “But as we speak today, the deep seaport, the fertiliser and amonia, everything that Dangote wants to do is in Ogun State and I’m sure by October, we should be there and the Refinery will commence. Dangote is partnering with us, but it is not Dangote alone, I am aware that Mr Jim Ovia is bringing in amonia to the site, fertiliser is coming, some people are building; it is a whole lot of things that are coming.”

    Earlier, the state’s Elders Consultative Forum lauded the efforts of Senator Amosun at rebuilding the state through urban renewal projects, clean environment, infrastructural developments and security of lives and property among others.

    Former World Court Judge, Prince Bola Ajibola, who spoke for the group, described Amosun as “hardworking, effective and performing Governor” whose “concern for Ogun State very much at his heart,” said the Governor’s “diligence” would surely enable him to be counted at surely end of the day among “kings and not among mere men.”

  • Shell/Bodo oil spill negotiations deadlock

    Mr Martyn Day, the lawyer representing Bodo community of Rivers in settlement negotiation with Shell, said on Saturday that his clients had rejected an offer made by the oil company.

    Day is a senior partner at the London-based Leigh Day law firm while Bodo is in Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers.

    No fewer than 15,000 claimants from the community had been negotiating with Shell over a massive oil spill which affected the area in 2008.

    Day said in a statement issued in Port Harcourt that the community unanimously rejected an offer for compensation from the oil company.

    He said Shell’s offer to pay N300,000 per fishing family affected by the spill was rejected.

    Day said Bodo community described Shell’s offer as “derisory and insulting”.

    “Most members of Bodo community unanimously rejected an offer for compensation from oil company Shell, calling the amount derisory and insulting at the conclusion of talks between their lawyers and the energy giant in Port Harcourt.

    “The negotiation ended on Sept. 13,’’ he said.

    Day said claimants from Bodo were interested in being paid a fair amount for the losses caused by the 2008 spill in their area.

    “The amount offered for most claimants equated to two to three years net lost earnings whereas the creek has already been out of action for five years.

    “It may well be another 20 years to 25 years before it is up and running properly again.

    “I was not at all surprised to see the community walk out of the talks once they heard what Shell was offering,’’ he said.

    Reacting to the development in a statement in Port Harcout, Mr Precious Okolobo, Shell’s spokesman, said the company could not reach an agreement with the community for compensation.

    “We haven’t reached agreement on compensation, which is disappointing.

    “Nonetheless, we’re pleased to have made progress in relation to clean up.

    “SPDC and the Bodo community have both committed their full support to the clean up process currently in progress with the support of Bert Ronhaar, the former Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria.

    “We have also proposed a series of interim measures to get clean up started as soon as possible,’’ he said.

    Okolobo said the company took part in the negotiations to achieve two objectives:

    “To make a generous offer of compensation to those who have suffered hardship as a result of the two highly regrettable operational spills in 2008.

    “To make progress in relation to clean up,’’ he said. (NAN)

  • Shell offers to pay N7.5bn for oil spill

    Shell offers to pay N7.5bn for oil spill

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company has offered to pay N7.5 billion to the indigenes of Bodo community, Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers, who were affected by the 2008 oil spill.

    The News Agency of Nigeria gathered on Thursday that the offer was made at the ongoing settlement negotiations between the company and representatives of the community.

    The meeting is taking place in Port Harcourt.

    NAN reports that the company had made the proposal and was awaiting the response of the community’s representatives and their lawyers.

    Shell had accepted responsibility for the 2008 oil spill which polluted the waterways of the fishing communities.

    The company, however, insisted that the volume of the spill and number of those who lost their means of livelihood were exaggerated.

    Shell’s spokesman, Mr. Joseph Obari, said: “We took part in this week’s settlement negotiations with two objectives – to make a generous offer of compensation to those who have suffered hardship as a result of the two highly regrettable operational spills in 2008, and to make progress in relation to the cleanup.

    “We await the community’s response to our compensation proposal, and we’re pleased to have made progress in relation to the cleanup.

    “SPDC and the Bodo community have committed their full support for the cleanup process, currently in progress, with the support of Bert Ronhaar, the former Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria,’’ he added.

    Obari said that Shell had also proposed a series of interim measures to begin the removal of oil from the area.

    “Of course, the success of any interim measures and final remediation depends on the cessation of oil theft and illegal refining in the area,” he said.

     

     

  • Shell to negotiate with Nigerians over oil spill compensation

    Shell to negotiate with Nigerians over oil spill compensation

    Compensation talks will begin in Nigeria on Monday between lawyers for Royal Dutch Shell and for 15,000 Nigerians in Bodo,Ogoniland, who say their livelihoods were destroyed by oil spills from pipelines operated by the company.

    The Nigerians launched a suit against Shell at the High Court in London in March 2012, seeking millions of dollars in compensation for two oil spills in 2008 that polluted the waterways of the Bodo fishing communities.

    The legal action is being closely watched by the industry and by environmentalists for precedents that could have an impact on other big pollution claims against oil majors.

    “They want to be fairly compensated for their losses from the time the spill took place until the oil is cleaned up and the Bodo Creek is returned to its natural state,” said Martyn Day of the plaintiffs’ London law firm Leigh Day.

    A Shell spokesman confirmed that talks would begin on Monday between Leigh Day and lawyers for the Anglo-Dutch firm. They will take place in Port Harcourt,Rivers State, and will be attended by representatives of the Bodo communities.

    Shell accepts responsibility for the Bodo spills, but the two sides disagree about the volume spilt and the number of local people who lost their livelihoods as a result. A previous round of compensation talks broke down in 2012, before the lawsuit.

    “We’re hopeful that an acceptable agreement can be reached with the Bodo community,” the Shell spokesman said. “Such an agreement would provide fair compensation, as well as a way forward on cleaning up the entire area affected by oil spills, whether caused by the two 2008 operational incidents, or by criminal activity.”

    Citing independent experts, Leigh Day says up to 600,000 barrels of crude were spilt, which would make it one of the worst spills in history. The volume spilt in Alaska in the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster was put at 257,000 barrels.

    But Shell, citing a report by a joint investigative team not controlled by the firm, puts the volume spilt in the two original incidents at just 4,100 barrels.

    Shell accepts that a significantly higher volume of oil was spilt later but says this was due to other factors including sabotage. It has also complained that its clean-up teams were at times denied access to sites by local groups.

    A Shell spokesman said the talks would focus on the number of people affected, the actual financial loss suffered, and the amount of time for which those affected should be compensated.