The Federal Government has commenced consultations with
stakeholders in the oil and gas sector, aimed at re-activating Shell Nigeria
Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO), the Bonga oilfield.
At the bi- annual stakeholders engagement meeting in Abuja,
Minister of State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, said the oilfield is very
important to Nigeria, and both should implement its mandate for the
sustainability of the project.
Represented by the Director of Environmental Assessment,
John Alonge, he urged SNEPCO to make integrity, transparency as its watchword,
in all transactions. He stressed that there must be compliance because both
have lots of issues to contend with.
According to him, Shell and the ministry must have social
and technical dialogues so that both would be on the same template to move the
project forward.
Presenting a paper on Bonga Southwest Aparo reframed project
/scope and proposed EIA plan, Raphael Afolabi of Shell, said they have updated
the concept and it is now going to run from 2018-2023 in three phases.
He said, “they are expecting one billion barrels of oil from
Bonga project, and would expend over $10 billion; technical works are going,
while stakeholders have been very supportive. We would come back to
government.”
He said the Federal Government had to reframe Bonga because
of low oil price, promising that optimum Nigerian content would be applied in
all cases, and go beyond this project.
An Environmental Manager, Augustine Ibukun, said oil
producing communities would continue to have negative impacts, the
multinationals should see how to open dialogue and discussions with them and
work out plans to eliminate emission.
Meanwhile, plans are underway by the Nigerian National
Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to extent the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP)
from Ghana to Cote d’ Ivoire as part of the Federal Government West African
energy integration policy.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru,
made this disclosure yesterday while receiving a delegation from Cote d’Ivoire
at the NNPC Towers in Abuja.
Represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power,
Saidu Mohammed, the GMD stated that the extension of WAGP to Cote d’Ivoire
would facilitate easy transmission of gas within the West African sub-region.
Leader of the Ivoirian delegation and Deputy Director,
Production, of Ministry of Petroleum, Cote d’ Ivoire, Mr. Patrick Marshal, said
the visit was to learn from Nigeria some of its best practices in personnel
management, exploration and production in the oil and gas industry.
GUARDIAN
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