Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has said that it would be ready to work with any new company that the Federal Government will approve to take over its operations in Ogoniland.
The Executive Vice President, Africa, Shell Group, Ann Pickard, said though the company is still awaiting the formal information on the proposed change of operatorship of the oil concession in the area, it would not go back to the area without the consent of the government and the people.
“We have heard of the planned change in operatorship in the area. Government has not informed us formally of this. But, the basic answer to the question is that we are not going to go back and operate in Ogoni without the Ogonis wanting us to be there. If the Ogonis and the government want some other company to operate as part of the joint venture, it is okay with Shell. So, Total, Agip or Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) could operate, all within the joint venture. We would like to see the situation resolved. We look to the government and President Yar’adua to take this forward. We are waiting for them to advise us on next steps. But, certainly, we are not against the proposal. We just want to work with government to see Ogoni get back to normal oil and gas production.
Though the company is facing a lot challenges in its operations in the Niger Delta region, particularly in its operations in Ogoniland, Pickard said the company is doing everything to realise the full potential in the region, adding that discussion have been ongoing to facilitate the restoration of full production, particularly in the western part of the region.
“It is not Shell alone that is trying to realise the Niger Delta potential. We began re-entry into the West about one and half years ago, and that has been going on very well. But, it could not have been Shell working alone. It is Shell working in co-operation with the Delta and Bayelsa State governments, together with the communities, because Shell cannot produce oil and gas unless the communities want us to. I feel pretty strongly that we are seeing a good future on the West,” she said.
Shell was forced to discontinue operations in the area in the wake of crisis that lead to the killing of the environmental rights activist, Ken Saro-wiwa and other Ogoni citizens.
On the role of Nigeria in balancing the global energy supply equation, Pickard noted that with the end of easy oil sight, Nigeria will continue to play a significant role in meeting the world’s energy supply needs, in view of her huge endowment of hydrocarbon reserves.
“The three hard truths include that global energy demand will continue to grow; industry supply will struggle to keep up with this growth over the longer tern, as environmental stresses are increasing,” she said.
Though she said traditional oil and gas will still be the primary fuel, even in 2050, with gas gaining increasing importance in satisfying the world’s urgent energy demand, she insisted the era of easy oil is gone, as companies are now going into deeper water operations, which require new technologies.
Identifying the other challenge facing the industry as the carbon dioxide footprint, he explained that the world soon wake up to the importance of managing the resource, a development that would make renewable means of energy and clean-burning gas more important than fossil fuel.
“From a Nigeria point of view, the resources in place are still huge and will have a lot of traditional oil projects. Nigeria will be very important in the world market for traditional energy supply and there will be all increased use of high technology to produce that oil. Bonga, for example, broke all kinds of barriers when it came on stream in December 2005, because it was in a water depth that the industry did not know how to produce, with a huge Floating production Storage and Off-loading vessel (FPSO) concept and an unproven hydrocarbon basin. We continue to look at deepwater opportunities.
We have got Bonga South West, Bonga North and Bonga North West and cutting edge technology will play a crucial role to bring the important oil to the market.”