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Tag: shell

  • Shell reopens oil pipeline

    Shell reopens oil pipeline

    Anglo-Dutch oil group Shell said at the weekend it had resumed production after repairing a sabotaged supply pipeline in the Niger Delta.

    The company shut down the Trans-Niger Pipeline (TNP) on June 19 following an explosion and fire in an area where oil theft has occurred, the latest such incident in Africa’s largest producer.

    The incident resulted in a cut of 150,000 barrels of oil per day.

    “SPDC has repaired the valve point and removed six other crude oil theft connections in its continuing efforts to maintain the integrity of the line,” it said of the incident in Bodo west in Ogoniland.

     

  • Shell probes Trans Niger pipeline fire

    A joint team has investigated the cause of the June 19 explosion and fire on the 28″ Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP), which led to the facility’s shutdown by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC). The shutdown resulted in the deferment of 150,000 barrels per day.

    According to Shell, the team comprised regulators, including the Ministry of Environment, community members, SPDC and independent observers.

    Shell said: “The TNP had previously been targeted by crude thieves and shut down several times to take out crude theft points. To ensure that the facility continued to meet operating standards, SPDC deployed a team to Bodo West on May 22, 2013 to remove and repair crude oil theft connections on both the 24 and 28-inch sections of the TNP.

    “The repair team’s presence and mandate to remove crude theft points were made known to the community, which granted them access. No sectional replacement work was underway. One operations support barge, one environmental barge and two tug boats were the only authorised vessels at the Bodo West worksite. Environmental barges are typically used to store and transport recovered oil.

    The Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, said: “Unfortunately, crude thieves continued to operate at night even as the repair team worked to remove illegal connections during the day, such that, on the day of the incident on June 19, two unauthorised Cotonou boats were reportedly present at the time of the initial explosion and fire. The established operations routine at any repair site comprises a team of SPDC staff, contractors and regulators who only work during daylight hours and leave the site at the end of each day. This means that no SPDC authorised people could have been on the ground at the time of the incident.

    “Having shutdown and isolated the pipeline, but with oil continuing to flow from the pipeline under gravity to the low point on the TNP, the only other practicable option in the circumstance was to allow the fire burn out naturally. To prematurely extinguish the fire without functioning containment equipment on site could have resulted in further environmental damage. We continued to monitor the fire while also mobilising replacement oil spill containment and response equipment to site. With the fire out, a residual leak was observed at the site contained within the crater caused by the initial incident. We are currently mobilising crews to evacuate the pit, access the leak point prior to the joint investigation visit and complete repair.”

    On the reported arrest of some employees of SPDC’s contractors and sub-contractors on suspicion of involvement in crude theft activities, Mr. Sunmonu said: “We appeal that the arrested suspects be treated in line with the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty, and hope for a speedy and transparent dispensation of justice for anyone found to have violated the laws of the land.

    “We are committed to operating transparently, which is why we have invited the National Coalition on Gas Flaring and Oil Spill in the Niger Delta (NACGOND) to join the investigating team as independent observers.

    “We will continue to run our operations as safely as is possible and in accordance with both industry regulations and Nigerian laws.”

  • JTF arrests 8 over SPDC pipeline fire

    *Loss from pipeline closure hits over N1bn

    The Joint Task Force, ‘Operation Pulo Shield’ says it has arrested eight suspects in connection with last Wednesday’s fire outbreak at the Trans Niger Pipeline of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in Bodo West of Gokana Local Government Area of Rivers State.

    The fire outbreak has led to the shutdown of about 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day, following the the closure of the 24″ and 28″ TNP.

    Consequently, it was gathered that the Federal Government and Joint Venture partners have lost about $75m (N1.18bn) as at Sunday evening.

    SPDC blamed the incident on activities of illegal bunkering rings, although local environmentalists in the area said the Anglo Dutch oil firm’s contractors are using the fire to incinerate crude oil spill.

    However, JTF Media Coordinator, Lt. Colonel Onyema Nwachukwu said the suspects were arrested at the scene of the fire by operatives of 142 Battalion attached to the Sector 2 of the JTF.

    He said, “The troop who sighted the fire at about 1.30am on Wednesday mobilised to the scene where they found the eight people in two tug boats.

    “During the interrogation, they claimed to be employees of Steve Integrated Technical Service and Sege Marine hired by SPDC to fix broken pipelines in Bodo.”

    The JTF spokesperson added that the suspects were facing preliminary interrogations at the Sector 2 headquarters in Port Harcourt before they would be handled over the prosecuting agencies.

  • Shell JV to spend $3.9b on Gbaran-Ubie, TNP projects

    Shell JV to spend $3.9b on Gbaran-Ubie, TNP projects

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC), operator of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC/SPDC joint venture (SPDC JV), said the joint venture has taken final investment decisions (FID) for the Trans Niger Pipeline loop-line (TNPL) and the Gbaran-Ubie Phase Two projects. The total capital investment for the two projects is about $3.9 billion.

    SPDC’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo disclosed this in a statement adding that the company also announced a strategic review of the interests that it holds in selected onshore leases in the SPDC JV.

    Commenting on the development, SPDC Managing Director, Mutiu Sunmonu said: “Today’s announcements demonstrate our long term commitment to Nigeria by clearly signalling our intent for the strategic direction of Shell in Nigeria.”

    On this new investment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, Shell said the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) is important for Nigeria, pumping some 180,000 barrels per day of crude oil to the Bonny Export Terminal and is part of the gas liquids evacuation infrastructure, critical for continued domestic power generation (Afam VI power plant) and liquefied gas exports.

    Sections of the TNP have been heavily impacted by sabotage and crude oil theft. The design of the TNPL includes improvements which make the pipeline better protected against crude oil theft and sabotage, which should help to reduce pollution related to criminal activity which was a key aspect of a 2011 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report on Ogoniland. The total capital investment for the TNPL project bundle is expected to be $1.5 billion.

  • 150,000 bpd shut-in as Shell closes pipeline

    150,000 bpd shut-in as Shell closes pipeline

    The Shell Petroleum Development Com pany of Nigeria limited (SPDC) joint venture has shut the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) following an explosion and fire at a crude theft point on the 28″ section of the facility at Bodo West in Ogoni land, Rivers State.

    A statement issued by Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo said that the company prior to the incident, had shut down the 28″ TNP to remove crude theft connections, and has now closed the 24″ TNP as a precautionary response to the fire. This means that the entire TNP system, comprising the 28″ and 24″ pipelines have been shut-in. The 24″ TNP will be reopened when it is safe to do so, while the 28″ TNP will remain shut-in until the fire has been extinguished, and investigation and damage assessment completed.

    The closure of the Trans Niger Pipeline also in shut-in of about 150,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).

    “This is another sad reminder of the tragic consequences of crude oil theft,” said SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu. “Unknown persons continued to reconnect illegal bunkering hoses at Bodo West even as our pipeline team were removing crude theft points. It was therefore, not surprising that the fire occurred from the continuing illegal bunkering even as a previous crude oil theft point was being repaired by the team.

    So far, there is practically no spill from this event as the oil is burning off. What is visible in the water is from an earlier oil spill which was also as a result of oil theft.

    “The explosion also triggered a fire on a nearby barge. Crude theft continues to pose significant challenges to people, the environment and the local and national economy, and all stakeholders must work together to stop this criminal activity,” he added.

  • Shell lists benefits of summit

    Shell lists benefits of summit

    AN investment summit hosted by Shell and the United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) has created opportunity for more partnerships between Nigerian and United Kingdom investors.

    According to a statement by Shell, the event attracted about 100 Nigerian and British firms that shared their offerings and capabilities to explore areas of partnerships. The summit was held as part of efforts to forge partnerships among businesses in both two countries.

    Some 45 British companies met with their Nigerian counterparts to discuss potential areas of collaboration in engineering, procurement, installation, commissioning (EPIC) contracts, manufacturing, fabrication and general oil and gas services.

    It is expected that the partnerships resulting from the summit will help grow the capacity of Nigerian companies in provision of goods and services in the oil and gas industry, Shell said.

    Welcoming participants to the summit, the Managing Director Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Chike Onyejekwe, said Shell is committed to further developing local content in Nigeria. “Last year, Shell companies in Nigeria awarded contracts worth $2.4 billion to Nigerian companies, one billion dollar more than the amount in 2011. Local content is good for Nigeria and for the business and we’re determined to raise the game,” he added.

    In a keynote address, the Executive Secretary of the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, Ernest Nwapa, commended Shell for the “sustained interest in the Nigeria/UKTI investment forum.

    He said: “Since the first summit, we’ve seen a significant number of companies participating at the event and we hope they will focus on areas that will improve their capability. It is good to see that other international oil companies (IOCs) are beginning to follow Shell’s example by organising similar engagements.”

  • Promasidor, Shell, others submit entries for CSR awards

    Promasidor, Shell, others submit entries for CSR awards

    SOME big names like Promasidor, Shell, Olam, Total, Diamond Bank and 27 others have submitted entries to contest for the coveted awards of the most responsible Corporate Social Citizen being organised by TruContact Ltd.

    In a statement made available to The Nation by the organisers, they said the firms submitted their entries well ahead of the May 2013 submission deadline for the 7th edition of the SERAs.

    Over the past six years, TruContact Limited has implemented the SERAs in collaboration with key partners including the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON). From inception, The SERAs team has made it a standard practice to verify all entries. This year’s verification of over 30 companies has commenced. The 2013 edition of the Nigeria CSR Awards is scheduled for September 21, 2013 at the MUSON Centre in Lagos.

    This year’s theme, ‘Shaping the Future Through Innovative Value Creation: Making a World of difference’, will continue to identify key players and showcase how business is creating shared value in a manner that benefits the business enterprise as well as its various stakeholders.

    According to Managing Partner of TruContact, Ken Egbas, “This year, we are increasing the stakes by promoting innovative thinking and strategies that explore the less trodden paths. We are looking for businesses that are creating value while differentiating their brand; and who are bold, deliberate and not afraid to stand apart in a bid to rewrite history.”

  • Time to look beyond NLNG, Shell, Mobil

    Time to look beyond NLNG, Shell, Mobil

    Bonny Island is regarded as the richest Island of its kind in the country and sub-Sahara Africa on account of being host to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Mobil Producing Unlimited. But the Island’s needs, which are beyond the companies’ reach, must be attended to so that it does not pose future threats, writes OLUKOREDE YISHAU

    Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) was the first to see the light in Bonny Island. Mobil Producing Unlimited saw it later. Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Limited did not see it until some two decades ago when work started on Africa’s largest LNG plant. They all liked the place and its potentials. The Federal Government, which has interest in all of these ventures, also knows what the country stands to gain from Bonny Island, which hosts the country’s only port of origin.

    The people were happy that the companies came. They had good times at the peak of the construction of the companies. The skilled and the unskilled were employed to get the companies ready.

    When work on the NLNG seventh train reaches its peak, thousands will be employed too.

    On November 5, 1998, the Island signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the three major companies there. This has seen the Island benefiting in the form of roads, water and free electricity.

    But Bonny Island still needs help. Plenty of it. That was why at the weekend, its traditional ruler, the Amayanabo of Grand Bonny Kingdom, King Edward Dappa Pepple 111, spearheaded a pan-Bonny Sustainable Development Conference. An area the Island must be helped so that its youths do not become threats to the companies and the elite is education.

    A World Bank consultant, Dr. Rosemary Nwangwu, spoke of the sorry human capital state of the community.

    Dr. Nwangwu said: “The number of teachers in Bonny primary schools is inadequate. There are no teachers even in the core subject areas: English Language, Mathematics and the Sciences. There are 21 public primary schools in Bonny Local Government Area. These 21 schools have a total of 5,949 pupils (male, 3010, female, 2939) taught by 139 teachers. This gives a teacher-pupil ratio of 1:44 as against the policy stipulated ratio of 1:35.

    “The secondary schools are no better staffed. There are four public junior and four public senior secondary schools in the Island…The junior secondary schools have 1,949 students… and are taught by 27 teachers. The senior secondary schools have 1,896 students and are taught by 71 teachers. Also at this level, there are no Mathematics, English Language or Science teachers.”

    The result of these, she said, was poor performance in terminal examinations.

    Dr. Nwangwu said in the last 10 years, the oldest school in the Island has recorded only 12 per cent pass with five credits in WAEC.

    She said: “These young people have been processed into nothingness and are not equipped to do anything. A more dangerous reality for the community is that the young people who are unable to make the pass mark are unable still to get into any other system that can enable them acquire skills. They are lost in the education system and lost to their families in terms of income generation and survival skills. These persons who dropped out from the system cannot help themselves or the system.”

    King Pepple said things have to change. He said there was still a long road to travel. He said the time had come to attract more partners to drive its development other than the NLNG, Shell and Mobil.

    According to him, the Island must be steered to the shores of development and prosperity for the sake of the future generation.

    He said: “We raise our voices to governments, the private sector, all international development agencies, all friendly corporate organisations that Bonny is open for business and to work with all well-meaning people to grow a project that we can all be proud of as partners.”

    The Executive Director of the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA), Mr Nobel Pepple, said the people must look beyond oil and gas for the development of the community. He said alternative livelihood could be found in fishing and agriculture.

    This position was also canvassed by the Netherlands Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Bert Ronhaar, who said with the sea in the Island, it can supply fishes to the rest of the world and make money.

    NLNG Managing Director Babs Omotowa, who represented the three oil and gas firms operating in the community at the conference, said a lot of work still needs to be done. He said the NLNG, Shell and Mobil would support the community’s drive for sustainable development.

    He said: “There seems to be the absence of a new direction for development after the exhaustion of the MoU items signed by the community with Joint Investing Companies (JIC). There are also issues of community ownership and programme/project sustainability as well as the need to broaden the support base of development in a holistic manner for the greater involvement, empowerment and enjoyment of the community as a whole. There we hope this conference will address and possibly encapsulate a workable plan for the future.

    “Finally, there is also a need for mid to long term outlook by the community in conceiving and initiating development programmes against the current short term yield expectations. The community needs to leverage on its latent and available resources to drive development from within.

    “On its part, JIC will support this transition and, in partnership with other external agencies, also support the development of this new way of thinking- and working. This will engender self- regulating development, communal confidence, and encourage external investors and international organisations to contribute to the socio-economic development of the island.”

    A communique at the end of the conference said the community must seek new partners to work with existing ones for its development in the areas of human capital and so on. It also agreed to set up an Economic and Social Development Fund to finance an updated Master Plan, service infrastructural and social development.

    The need to look beyond oil and gas for sustainable development of the community, said observers, is strengthened by the changing global oil needs.

    A day before the conference, it emerged that the country’s oil exports will remain well below last year’s average in July. The country plans to export 1.92 million barrels a day of oil in July, according to details of crude shipments provided last Friday to Dow Jones Newswires by traders in the market. Next month, the country will export 1.76 million barrels a day, which is below the country’s average export volume of 2.24 million barrels a day last year.

    In the past, the drop in supply would have pushed up price. But not anymore.

    This is attributed to the booming production in the U.S. shale oil fields.

    Managing Director, Swiss consultancy Petromatrix Olivier Jakob said:

    “It used to be that supply disruptions were a problem. Now (Nigerian supply cuts) are welcome to balance the market, and that says something about the structural change.”

    In April, Shell was unable to fulfil contractual deliveries of Bonny Light crude oil named after the Island, where it is sourced, after a high number of thefts forced it to close the Nembe Creek pipeline for repairs. Shell said around 150,000 barrels a day of production was deferred because of the shutdown. This did not affect price.

    Torbjorn Kjus, an analyst, said: “It’s not only the supply now, but it’s also the demand from all of the key sources. The U.S. is kind of slipping away.”

    Speaking at a conference in Oxford, United Kingdom, Minister of Petroleum Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke said: “Shale oil has been identified as one of the most serious threats for African producers.”

  • Ijaws vs Shell Drawing a new battle line

    Ijaws vs Shell Drawing a new battle line

    On May 8, the people of Amazor community in Ekeremor Local Government Area of Bayelsa State opened a new front in the endless battle between oil multinationals and their host communities in the Niger Delta, when they handed a quit notice to Shell Petroleum Development Company. Shola O’Neil looks at the issues involved

    Since the 90s, relationships between oil multinationals prospecting the nation’s oil reserves in the Niger Delta region have gone from bad to worse. Locals have constantly accused international oil companies (IOCs) of taking them for a ride while a supposedly acquiescing government does nothing to redress their grievances.

    The oil companies on the other hand complain that they do more than they should for the host communities. A top manager in Shell once declared that what the company spends on community relations in Nigeria exceeds what it spends in other parts of the world where it operates.

    Though mostly whispered in the public, oil firms in the region blame their acrimonious rapport with communities on the yawning lack of government’s presence in the oil-bearing communities, particularly those located in the creeks and remote parts of the region, where they are seen as an arm of government.

    Brewing crisis

    But when 25 leaders of Amazor community expressed their unwillingness to allow Shell’s planned replacement of the Trans-Ramos trunk line to go on, it signalled a new front in the never-ending face-off. Those who signed the document slammed the company as bad and disrespectful tenant without respect for the host to its facilities.

    The strongly worded letter sent to the General Manager of SPDC in the Western Division, and Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Deziani Alison-Madueke, warned that “It shall be very difficult to tolerate and put up with SPDC for another 20 years.”

    Apart from lamenting their “abandonment” by the company, the community leaders blamed Shell for the no-love-lost relationship between them and neighbouring Aghoro II Community. They said they enjoyed harmonious relationship with their neighbours before Shell’s arrival on the scene.

    “Shell is meddling in the internal community/land politics to cause bad blood and possible war between Amazor and Aghoro II communities,” the protest letter stated.

    The two Ijaw communities are locked in a protracted land ownership tussle that has threatened to degenerate into a full-blown war in recent times. The bone of contention, recently, is a strip of land, which Amazor said Shell sought and got their approval for use in the 1989 for the contentious pipeline.

    “However, when it came to awarding the Integrated Pipeline Surveillance Scheme (IPSS) contract, Shell said we are too small to be allotted a part of the contract. Instead, they bundled us with Aghoro and gave the contract to an Aghoro contractor, who is asked to merely take five of our persons.

    “We refused and at the end of the day it was agreed that we should get the next one when it is due for renewal. But till date, we have nothing to show for it 20 years on and they are asking for approval to replace the pipeline,” a youth leader, Bolokowei Metini, told our reporter.

    Also, the aggrieved community leaders expressed displeasure at the company’s plan to deliver 35-km high voltage (35KV) transmission line passing through their community to connect Agge and Aghoro I and II communities to the Ogbotobo flow station without connecting Amazor.

    The Community Development Committee Chairman, Mr. Gospel Ebisini, said the decision was part of the plot to further stoke the fire of communal conflict. He said when the project starts, his community would not allow it go ahead because “we cannot be cooks who cannot taste the meal.

    “Then, this will now pitch us against the Aghoro and Agge people who will see us as enemies of progress who do not want them to enjoy electricity. What we are saying is that since the project is supposed to create employment and empowerment, are our people not good enough to enjoy these benefits even when it is passing through our community?” he asked.

    More worrisome for the community, according to Ebisini, is that whenever the company attempts to resolve issue of grievances with Amazor, it sneaks in their neighbours into the meeting, ostensibly to make Aghoro II its proxy fighters.

    The first indication that all is not well between the company and the community emerged in early March 2013, when Shell published, in a national daily, its intention to seek, from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, licence for the renewal of its Trans Ramos Pipeline, which was constructed over 20 years ago.

    Rather than allow the company to go ahead with it, what was a routine procedure, the community objected. The objection, raised at the public forum held in Asaba, the Delta State capital, prepared the ground for what would be an acrimonious process.

    It followed the protest with a letter to the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and relevant government agencies, through their solicitors, Osteen Igbapike, who cited various ecological, health and environmental problems resulting from “serial oil spills” from the pipeline, which he says did not meet regulations in the oil industry.

    The objection, dated 24/3/2013, stated that “Amazor community is suffering from the following oil spills on the Trans Ramos Pipelines: October 2002, June 2003 and February 2004…”

    It was gathered that most of the spills mentioned in the letter are contentious with the oil firm insisting on no compensation payment for spills caused by third party interference (sabotage). The December 2011 Bonga spill is also one of the issues unresolved with Amazor.

    Counterpoise

    Reacting to our inquiry on allegations contained in the letters, SPDC’s spokesperson, Mr. Tony Okonedo, simply said they are “misleading and false.”

    Okonedo debunked Amazor’s assertion that it is Shell’s host, stressing that “Amazor is not host” to its assets in the area, but a neighbouring community to its facilities in Kou Kingdom.

    He explained that in spite of not being a host community, “Amazor continues to benefit from the JV (Joint Ventures) social responsibility initiatives. For example, the community is part of the Kou cluster where SPDC JV spent about N500 million in a GMoU (Global Memorandum of Understanding) which expired in 2011.

    “Also, with the support of the Bayelsa State Government, a new five-year GMoU (with increased annual spend from N105 to N267m) was signed in February 2013 with the Kou communities,” Okonedo added.

    However, Amazor leaders say issues involved in the squabble are not as straight forward as the response. Dr. Johnny Gari Suwa, one of the signatories to the quit notice and member of the Traditional/Elders Council of Amazror Community, insisted on his kinsmen’s stance as host to Shell and the Trans Ramos pipeline.

    Dr. Suwa said the company’s response was consistent with its show of “wickedness and insensitivity” to the plight of its host communities. “We gave SPDC our land and today they are saying we are no longer host to their operations, did they bring the land from wherever they came from?

    “SDPC has demonstrated utmost bad faith in her dealings with us and has challenged our lordship to the land areas granted her for the laying of the pipeline evidenced as pillar Nos 106 and 105 then. This is evident in Shell’s land Form C No. 08401 in Field Book No. 5C3/66/57.

    “The Amazor Community is the beneficial owner in possession in fee, simple, and the persons entitled to the statutory right of occupancy of all that land area within which the pipeline is laid,” he affirmed.

    The community leader lamented that the company could turn around to describe his community as “mere neighbours to Shell” after all these years. “This is why the people of Amazor see Shell as a bad tenant with the temerity to challenge its landlord’s right to ownership of its property.”

    Tracing the origin of the bad blood between the two sides, a leader of the community, Mr. Fredrick Seimodi, said the first sign of trouble between SPDC and his kinsmen started shortly after construction of the pipeline.

    “When other communities in the areas got the contract for IPSS (Integrated Pipeline Surveillance Scheme), our community was short-changed. From then till now, we have not benefited from it,” he stated.

    Other contentious issues are series of oil spill over the past decades. The issue of compensation and clean up of the spill, which, ironically, resulted from the pipeline that Shell wished to replace, have lingered and is subject of series of meetings between the community and company.

    Asked on the way forward, Seimodi said his people want Shell to acknowledge Amazor as a host community with benefits and royalties accorded its neighbours. “We also want the company to pay us the sums due for all the entitlements as well as proceed for the IPSS since past 20 years or else it should uproot its pipeline from our lands and leave.

    “We are very peaceful people and it seems our peaceful disposition is being mistaken for stupidity, this time we are prepared to show that we are not fools. If they cannot give us light as they are giving our neighbours, clean up their spills, which they on their own called ‘Legacy Spills’, carry out best industry practice, then they should be prepared for us. We are not violent, but we will go through legal means to battle them,” he added.

    In spite of the community’s tough talk, our checks show that the licence for the replacement of the pipeline might go ahead without hitch because of the strategic importance of the facility. The 24″ line evacuates crude oil from crude from several facilities in the Benisede clusters and other facilities to the Forcados Terminal for export.

    However, Igbapike, who conceded that such projects hardly face objection, said the communities have a game plan to ensure due process and adherence to the extant laws.

    “Shell is not used to objection from communities because of the understanding between them and the Ministry of Lands and Survey as the federal government is a part owner of the project. We are ready for them. We have adequately served the notice of our objection and we may go to court, if they do not comply,” he added.

    It is difficult to see how this battle of wits is going to play out, especially with both sides holding firm on their points. What is certain though is that this is only one of several battles ahead between the oil firm and its host communities.

     

     

     

  • Shell blames fresh spill on sabotage

    Shell blames fresh spill on sabotage

    The Shell Petroleum Development Company on Friday attributed the fresh oil spill in the Taylor Creek in Yenagoa to sabotage.

    The company’s spokesman, Precious Okolobo, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Yenogoa that the fresh spill was caused by a third party interference.

    “Unknown persons tampered with a previously clamped flow line, resulting in a fresh oil spill.

    “Joint Investigation Visit (JIV) has been planned for today (May 24) and after which we will commence remedial actions,” Okolobo said.

    The Corporate Media Relations Manager of Shell, Mr. Tony Okenedo, said: “Sadly, this spill adds to a rising trend in the area.

    “We recorded four different spills on our flow lines in the area from April 9 to April 26, all caused by sabotage and theft as attested to by the different JIV reports.

    “Cleanup of residual impacted area has been planned.

    “SPDC is very concerned about these sabotage spills because of the negative impact on the people and the environment, ” Okenedo said.

    NAN reports that the latest oil spill, which occurred on May 6, has impacted on JK4, Betterland, Ikarama and Kalaba communities.