Shell Not Yet Directed to Leave Ogoniland’
From Ahamefula Ogbu in Port Harcourt, 07.07.2008
Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), has denied getting any directive from the Federal Government to leave Ogoniland.
Speaking in an interactive session with journalists in Port Harcourt weekend, the Managing Director of Shell, Mr. Mutiu Sumonu, said Shell had heard of the Presidential pronouncement on its facilities in Ogoniland like every other Nigeria via the media.
He said: “We are yet to get any letter or official directive on the matter as at today. The Federal Government has not formally notified us. There has not been a formal letter. We have heard and discussed it. What the President said is headline statement which details are not available.”
President Umaru Musa Yar‘Adua had June 4 announced that another company might take over oil exploration from the SPDC in Ogoniland by the end of 2008.
Yar’Adua, at a session with the Nigerian community in South Africa, explained that the loss of confidence between the Ogoni and the SPDC meant that the latter (Shell) should withdraw from Ogoniland.
He had said: “There is a total loss of confidence between Shell Petroleum and the Ogoni people; another operator acceptable to the Ogoni will take over. Nobody is gaining from the conflict and stalemate, so this is the best solution.”
The President had also disclosed that agreements had already been reached for the SPDC to pay compensation for environmental degradation to the Ogoni.
Sumonu said Shell needed between $3 and 5 billion (N351 and 585 billion) to end gas flaring in its facilities in Nigeria after spending $3 billion so far on gas gathering facilities.
He said the firm had been making serious efforts to end the practice, but blamed paucity of funds for the continued flaring of gas.
Sumonu said if Shell was willing to fund the project, it needed the Federal Government to make its own contributions.
According to him, the Joint Venture agreements between Shell and the Federal Government also work in the gas flaring stoppage scheme.
According to Sumonu, the government is expected to contribute 55 per cent of the money needed for the gas gathering facilities that will end flaring.
“Today we have spent $3 billion commissioning gas gathering facilities. To cover all our facilities, we will need between $3 billion and $5 billion. We are mindful towards stopping flaring but due to under funding and security to access facilities, we have not been able to stop it in all the facilities we have. We hope the Federal Government will pay its own part of 55 per cent of the cost,” Sumonu said.
On debts to local and international contractors, he said the firm was working out the details of a facility it intends to advance to the Federal Government so that all the debts would be defrayed.
The debts, he said were causing a lot of disquiet in the oil-servicing companies, especially local contractors some of whom were last paid in October 2007 and have resorted to putting their staff on redundancy list after the debts stalled their operations.
He said the firm was also finalising arrangements for a class action suit to recover the debts put at $1.3 billion, adding that Shell was paying multi-national companies their monies while holding back those of local contractors.
Responding to the allegation that Shell was giving preference to contractors who had militancy leanings to avoid vandalism of its facilities, the Shell boss denied the allegation.
