Global Policy Forum

By Emeka Ugwuanyi

Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has incurred a loss of about $8.1 billion following withdrawal of its operations in Ogoni, Rivers State.

A statement made available by SPDC reveals that operations in Ogoni account for 200,000 barrels of crude oil per day, put at a cost of $2.97 million or $900 million per annum.

SPDC, Vanguard gathered, feels disenchanted with the situation and has been craving to make a turn back to the oil-rich communities of Ogoni it left in 1993.

The management of the company, Vanguard gathered, is currently canvassing to make peace with the indigenes through negotiations as it promises to meet reasonable demands that may be made by the Ogonis provided there will not be a recurrence of vandalization of SPDC's facilities nor attack on its staff.

Prominent chiefs, group leaders in Ogoni and well- meaning friends of the community, Vanguard gathered, are being lobbied to intercede in the almost a decade misunderstanding between SPDC and the host community.

Moreso, SPDC in its report on People and Environment disclosed that despite the company's hands of fellowship for a friendly co-existence, the Ogoni people have continued to vandalize the company's pipelines even as it ceased operations there for a couple of years.

The report further stated that SPDC has been committed to its community development projects to Ogoni communities, saying that 25 per cent of the company's annual expenditures on People and Environment in all its operations in Nigeria were spent in Ogoni.

In spite of the withdrawal, the vandalization continued unabated as SPDC's 24-inch and 28-inch flow lines which link Bomo and Bodo fields in Ogoni were damaged resulting in waste of products as well as damage to environment.

Shell condemned the act as well as vandalization of some of its manifolds which also resulted in waste of great quantity of its petroleum products.

The indiscriminate vandalization and the resultant enormous waste of products, according to Shell's External Relations Manager, Precious Omuko, forms SPDC's burning desire and effort to resume operations in Ogoni to enable the company monitor its facilities.

It would be recalled that in 1993, Shell Nigeria withdrew its operations and abandoned its equipment and facilities in Ogoni following the intolerable restiveness of the indigenes, especially the youths.

The Ogonis were launching incessant attacks on the company's staff while vandalizing equipment and other facilities. The attack, at a point, degenerated to a level that Shell had no alternative than to stop work and withdrew its staff.

FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. Global Policy Forum distributes this material without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. We believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.