Oil & Energy
SPDC Rewards Most Peaceful Communities In Rivers
For promoting peace and providing a congenial environment for business to thrive in 2009, the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) last Friday, rewarded some host communities in Rivers State with prizes for winning the maiden edition of the Community Role Model Peace Project in Port Harcourt.
The communities are those within Shell Land-1 East areas of operations, which form Port Harcourt-1 and 2, as well as Ogoni, and bring together secondary schools in Bori, Ogale, Igbo-Etche, Igwuruta, Rumuokurusi, Odagwa, Elelenwo, Umuechem, Egwi, Olakwor, in Obio/Akpor, Ikwerre, Etche, Eleme, and Khana local governments, among others.
The event brought together eight secondary schools, which vied for honours and glory with the projection of the core values of peace in essay and quiz competitions on the topics: “Effects of Pipeline Vandalism on the Environment”, and “Illegal Bunkering: Effects on the Environment and Economy”, as well as a community football competition.
At the end of the keenly contested essay competition, Gladys Echi of Elelenwo community came out tops, and was rewarded with N400,000.00 cash, a laptop computer and certificate, among others.
Captain Nwigwe of Igbo-Etche community clinched the second position, just as Chukwudi Okoronkwo took the third place, both rewarded with mouthwatering prizes and certificates.
In the quiz competition, Government Secondary School, Ogale, Eleme, swept through the lot to grab the first position with 14points, a cash reward of N20,000.00, among other prizes.
Community Boys Secondary School, Elelenwo won the second position with 13points while Birabi Memorial Grammar School, Bori, garnered the third position with 12points, and were also rewarded with valuable prizes.
However, in the football competition between PH-1 and PH-2, comprising a selection of talented football players from the participating secondary schools, PH-1 defeated PH-2 by 2-1 to lift the gold trophy and a cash reward of N300,000.00.
Speaking at the football prize presentation ceremony, Shell’s General Manager, Onshore Assets/Asset Manager, Swamp East, Woji Weli, thanked the participating schools from the local communities for promoting peaceful business environment in their areas in 2009, and charged the communities to continue to exhibit high level of hospitality and friendship in order to facilitate the sustainable development of their areas.
Making his presentation to winners of the essay competition, Manager, Government and Community Relations, SPDC, Theo Wellington, said the project was designed to recognize bright youths in the company’s host communities, and hoped that the participating youths will serve as role models by helping others in the communities to channel their minds, energy, time and resources to worthwhile activities that benefit the Niger Delta in particular and Nigeria in general.
He challenged the youths to be more creative and innovative in their career pursuits, and work assiduously towards the promotion of peace and development in their communities, as according to him, once peace is achieved in the rural communities, development and economic growth would be accomplished in the affected communities, local governments and state, and by extension, Nigeria.
In his speech, the Operations Manager, SPDC Land-1 East, Chuks Ikeobi, noted that majority of oil spills in the Niger Delta are the result of sabotage caused when thieves drill into pipelines or open up wellheads to steal oil and natural gas liquids, adding that on the average, these two causes account for more than 70 per cent of all oil spilled from Shell facilities in the Niger Delta over the last five years.
The operations manager assured that for whatever reasons may be adduced for misdirecting meaningful energies into the sabotage of the nation’s strategic economic livewire, as well as delaying the clean-up process by the emergency response teams, Shell was committed to improving its performance in all fronts, reduce the number of spills under its control, while striving to maintain oil production so as to sustain the nation’s economic growth and development.
“Whatever the cause”, Ikeobi said, “SPDC is committed to stopping and containing all spills, recovering and cleaning up as much oil as it can and restoring sites in compliance with regulations”, adding that Shell has “researched and adopted a technique for restoring land sites impacted by oil spills that we believe to be effective for the soil and climate conditions in the equatorial heat of the Niger Delta”.
He tasked host communities to continue to support and cooperate with the company in order to fast-track the development of the Niger Delta region by promoting the core values of peace and non-violence in their day-to-day activities, assuring that Shell would remain their advocate and partner.
Shell’s Assets Manager, Land – East, Mrs Chidube Nnene-Anochie, presented the Community Peace and quiz prizes to winners of the competition.
Highlights of the event were the presentation of Community Peace plaques, cash ranging from N5,000.00 to N400,000.00, certificates, trophies, LCD television sets, laptop computers, among other prizes to winners and other participating schools, teachers and students.
Nelson Chukwudi
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.