Oil & Energy
Ogoni Clean-Up: Monarch Makes Case For Local Contractors
The Acting King of Eleme Kingdom in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, Emere (Dr) Philip Osaro Obele, has appealed to the Federal Government and the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP) in particular to involve local contractors from Eleme ethnic extraction in the clean-up of oil spill impacted sites in the area.
Obele, who made the appeal during a courtesy call on him by the Minister of Environment, Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma and HYPREP team at his palace in Aleto Eleme recently, stressed the need for the agency to deliver on its mandate of total remediation of impacted sites in the area as well as provision and restoration of the livelihoods of the people.
He equally stressed the need for HYPREP to engage contractors from the area in all its activities as well as offer scholarship to deserving sons and daughters of the area as a way of empowering the people.
The monarch said the provision of emergency measures like clean water was paramount, as it would go a long way to cushion the effects of pollution and degradation of the Eleme environment, pointing out that the entire underground water in the area was badly affected.
While assuring HYPREP of Eleme people’s support, he lamented that the people’s means of livelihood had been completely destroyed, as they were now prone to diseases like cancer, blindness, among other ailments.
“You people should do your best for us. You know what we are passing through. No water. The rain water is acidic. In Ogale, we barely live for each day. There are certain crops you can’t find here. You can’t get any good fish in our area,” he said.
HYPREP ‘s Project Coordinator, Dr Mavin Dekil, assured the monarch of the agency’s commitment to implement the UNEP Report to the letter and congratulated him on his elevation, stressing that the agency had recently trained some Ogoni youths and plans were underway to train additional 400 Ogoni women.
The Minister of Environment, Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma, who was represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, assured the monarch of the agency’s commitment to the remediation project and thanked him for Ogoni people’s support for the project.
Meanwhile, the company handling the clean-up project in Obolo community in Eleme Local Government Area, Basic Nigeria Limited, has given an assurance of delivering the job according to international standard.
Managing Director of the company, Mr Masi Bright who gave the assurance recently when the Minister of Environment, Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma and HYPREP team visited the Lot 2 clean-up site, said the firm was doing everything within its capacity to restore the polluted site to its original state.
Briefing the Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Environment, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote, an environmental expert and HYPREP’s Head of Operations, Prof. Philip Shekwolo, said the contractors had adopted the right methodology to completely restore the environment, adding that signs to that effect would start manifesting within three months, with the sprouting of fresh and healthy crops at the site.
HYPREP also organised a town hall meeting with stakeholders in Ogale to sensitise the people on the clean-up project.
Donatus Ebi
The Bill for an act to prohibit gas flaring, encourage commodity utilisation, and provide for penalties and remedies for gas flaring violations has passed its second reading in the House of Representatives.
Sponsored by the Member representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency (APC, Lagos), Babajimi Adegoke Benson, the bill seeks to prohibit the flaring and venting of natural gas, except in strictly regulated circumstances, while encouraging the utilisation of gas resources to foster economic growth and energy generation.
The proposed legislation aims to mitigate the environmental, health, and economic impacts of gas flaring, aligning Nigeria’s oil and gas operations with international climate change commitments.
Offenders, who violate the provisions of the proposed law, would face stringent penalties, including fines of $5 per 1,000 standard cubic feet of gas flared and potential suspension of operations for repeat violations.
Leading debate on the general principles of the bill, Benson said gas flaring has plagued Nigeria for decades, resulting to severe environmental degradation, public health crises, and economic losses while it environmentally, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions, global warming, and acid rain, exacerbating climate challenges.
The lawmaker said public health impacts of the practice are equally dire, as pollutants from gas flaring cause respiratory and cardiovascular diseases, particularly among residents of communities close to flaring sites.
According to him, economically, flaring results in the waste of a valuable resource that could otherwise be harnessed for energy generation or exported to generate revenue.
Benson insisted that the bill was designed to address those issues while bringing Nigeria in line with global standards such as the Paris Agreement on climate change.
“The bill provides for a comprehensive prohibition of gas flaring except in emergencies or when explicitly authorised by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
“Operators are required to submit and implement Gas Utilisation Plans, detailing how gas that would otherwise be flared will be captured, processed, or commercialised.
“Offenders, who violate these provisions, face stringent penalties, including fines of $5 per 1,000 standard cubic feet of gas flared and potential suspension of operations for repeat violations. Furthermore, the Bill ensures that communities affected by gas flaring are entitled to compensation and environmental restoration, creating a mechanism for redress.
“Transparency and accountability are integral to the enforcement framework of this Bill. Operators must submit regular reports on gas flaring incidents, which will be audited and made publicly available by the NUPRC. This approach ensures public oversight and stakeholder engagement, fostering trust and compliance.
“Nigeria’s adoption of this Bill positions the country to emulate such success, ensuring a balance between environmental stewardship and economic development.
“The implementation of this Bill will be overseen by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, which will monitor compliance through regular audits, enforce penalties, and facilitate gas utilisation projects in collaboration with operators and development partners.
“The Anti-Gas Flaring (Prohibition and Enforcement) Bill, 2024, is a timely and necessary response to one of Nigeria’s most pressing environmental challenges. Its provisions are both practical and forward-looking, addressing immediate concerns while laying the groundwork for a sustainable future.
“I urge all Honourable Members to support the Second Reading of this Bill as a demonstration of our collective commitment to environmental protection, public health and economic progress”, he added.
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Oil major, Shell, has restated its commitment to the development of Nigerian companies through contract awards and scaling up of expertise.
Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company ((SNEPCO) Limited, Ron Adams, made the remark while speaking at the Opening Ceremony of the 13th edition of the Practical Nigerian Content forum held in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, with the theme “Deepening the Next Frontier for Nigerian Content Implementation”.
Represented by the Manager, Business Opportunity, SNEPCO’s Bonga South-West Aparo Project, Olaposi Fadahunsi, he said several benefitting companies had taken advantage of the patronage to expand their operations and improve their expertise and financial strength.
Adams said, “Shell companies execute a large proportion of their activities through contracts with third parties, and Nigeria-registered companies have been key beneficiaries of this policy aimed at powering Nigeria’s progress”.
He emphasized that Shell companies in Nigeria also continued to develop indigenous manpower through scholarship programmes with over 3,772 undergraduate and 109 Niger Delta post graduate scholarships since 2016.
“As we speak, beneficiaries of the 13th edition of the Niger Delta Post Graduate Scholarship awards are pursuing their studies in the United Kingdom. The employability rate of the scheme is high with over 98% of the graduates who won the awards securing employment in the oil and gas industry, academia and Information Technology, among other sectors, within one year of completing their studies”.
He commended the Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for ensuring compliance with the Nigerian Content Act saying “Nigerian content will continue to be an important part of Shell operations”.
The four-day conference hosted by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and participating companies reviewed progress on the development of Nigerian content pertaining to the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Development (NOGICD) Act since it was enacted in 2010.
Shell companies in Nigeria are among the more than 700 oil and gas entities that participated in the forum with a strong message of support for Nigerian companies, having awarded contracts worth $1.98 billion to the businesses in 2023 in continuing effort to develop Nigerian content in the oil and gas industry.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has sold the first cargo of Port-Harcourt low sulfur straight run fuel oil (LSSR) to Dubai-based Gulf Transport & Trading Limited (GTT).
The company is expected to load the cargo in the coming days onboard the Wonder Star MR1 ship, signalling the commencement of operations at the plant and the exportation of petroleum products.
The ship would load 15,000 metric tons of the product, which translates to about 13.6 million litres.
Although the volume coming from the NNPC into the global market is still small, the development has the potential to impact the Very Low Sulphur Fuel Oil (VLSFO) benchmarks in the future, while changing the market realities for Atlantic Basin exporters into Nigeria and other regions.
The sulfur content of the export by NNPC stands at 0.26 per cent per wt and a 0.918 g/ml density at 15°C, according to Kpler, a data and analysis company.
The cargo was reportedly sold at an $8.50/t discount to the NWE 0.5 per cent benchmark on a Free on Board (FOB) basis.
Kpler reported that the development would help displace imports from traditional suppliers in Africa and Europe, as Nigeria’s falling clean product (CPP) imports are already decreasing, dragging imports into the wider West Africa region lower as well.