.…Want Belemaoil to Manage Operations of the Oil Facility.
The Host Communities of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 25 in Kula Kingdom, Akuku-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State have set clear conditions for the new operator, Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings, to resume oil production in the area.
OML- 25 is a highly prolific shallow – water oil block in the Niger Delta with a production capacity of over 45,000 barrels of crude oil and 103,000 cubic feet of natural gas daily.
The facility has remained shut down for over 15 years due to a longstanding dispute between Shell, the former operator and the Host Communities over unresolved issues.
Efforts in 2019 by the immediate past Group Chief Executive Officer ( GCEO) of the NNPC Limited, Mele Kolo Kyari and for former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva to resolve the issues, restore peace and facilitate the resumption of oil production in the area, yielded little or no result due to the seeming reluctance or apparent unwillingness of Shell to implement the agreement reached.
The 15 years shutdown of the facility has resulted in substantial economic losses for the federal government, state government, local government, the host communities and other shareholders of the asset.
For the first time since the divestment of the oil block by Shell, representatives of the Host Communities comprising Kula, Belema, Offoin- Ama and Ngeje met with the new operator at an enlarged stakeholders’ engagement in port Harcourt for preliminary discussions, where they presented their demands and concerns to the company.
Topmost among their demands is the implementation of the 2019 quadripartite agreement between NNPC Limited, Shell – the former operator, Belemaoil, and the Host Communities.
The agreement which was brokered by the former GCEO of the NNPC Limited, Mela Kyari and the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva stipulates that while the retains the operational license and rights, Belemaoil, which owns a stake in OML- 25, will manage the operations, surveillance, patrol, and maintenance of the facility.
The Host Communities are also demanding road infrastructure, hospitals, schools, scholarships, community town hall, provision of potable water facilities, among other basic amenities.
They also want employment opportunities for their sons and daughters, as well as empowerment programs for women and youths to improve the quality of life of the people who have been living in squalor, abject poverty, total neglect and deprivation for decades despite hosting such critical national economic asset.
Additionally, the Host Communities want the new operator of OML- 25 to take full responsibility of remediation of their environment which was polluted and degraded by Shell.
They lamented the destruction of their ecosystem after 67 years of oil exploration and exploitation in the area by Shell, which left them with nothing but damage to their traditional occupations of farming and fishing _ their primary sources of livelihood and substance.
However, briefing newsman at the end of meeting, an elder statesman and prominent stakeholder if Kula Kingdom, His Highness, Anabs Sara-Igbe, said by retaining some senior Staff of Shell who treated the Host Communities badly, they look forward with cautious optimism to seeking how the new operator – Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings will be different from Shell.
He said, however, that with the new era in OML- 25 operations, the host communities are willing to cooperate with and support the new operator in achieving early resumption of oil production, thereby increasing Nigeria’s oil output and boosting it’s reserves, provided their demands are met.
Chief Sara-Igbe said they are eager to see a new beginning and a total departure from the ugly practices of Shell, which they accused of neglect and enslavement of the people, and underdevelopment of the area.
” We want the facility to be re- open as early as possible but they must agree on the terms that we have enunciated above, we must all agree to work together, we must agree to build the place together, we must agree to develop the host communities, we must agree to clean the the polluted environment, we must agree to meaningfully engage our sons and daughters with employment and also implement the 2019 Agreement reached between the Host Communities, NNPC, Shell and Belemaoil which also owns a stake in OML-25″
Chief Anabs Sara-Igbe also accused Shell of surreptitiously divesting the oil block without consulting the Host Communities, with a hidden motive of evading liabilities for the environmental and social damages caused by their operations in the area over the years.
On his part, President of the National Youth Council of Nigeria and prominent stakeholder of Kula Kingdom, Amb. Sukubo Sara-Igbe Dokubo emphasized that the new operator of OML-25, Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings must learn from the mistakes of Shell, which led to a 15- year shut down of the facility due to unresolved dispute between Shell and the Host Communities.
He said to avoid similar pitfalls, the new operator should refrain from retaining Shell staff with questionable character who contributed to the conflict.
The Youth Leader urged the new company to prioritize youth employment as well as empowerment programs for women and other segment of the Host Communities.
Another Stakeholder of Kula Kingdom, Christian Don Pedro, said he expects the new operator to prioritize the welfare of the Host Communities and environmental sustainability.
This maiden meeting between Renaissance Africa Energy Holdings, the new operator of OML-25, and the Host Communities marks a significant step toward addressing long-standing issues and fostering a strong, cooperative, and harmonious relationship for the mutual benefit of all stakeholders of the oil block.
