The Shell Group in Nigeria, on Tuesday, said that the 700,000 barrels of crude oil per day being shut in on account of the crises in the Niger Delta would further deter investments in the oil and gas industry.
The Group Managing Director of Shell in Nigeria, Mr. Basil Omiyi, said this on Tuesday in Calabar, Cross Rivers State, while delivering a lecture titled, �Sustainable development and security in the Niger Delta: Balancing stakeholders� expectations.�
The situation in the Niger Delta had led to the closure of production platforms in some of the host communities where militant youths had kidnapped oil workers and damaged production installations.
The Nigerian economy and the joint venture partners, including Shell Group, are currently losing an estimated $295m daily as a result of that volume of crude oil being shut in when calculated at the going rate of about $59 per barrel.
Particularly, Omiyi said that the industry was losing its human capital, some of who, were killed by the militants. The militants, he added, had also kidnapped some of the workers.
He attributed the restiveness in the Niger Delta to factors such as ethnic rivalry, boundary disputes, perceived and actual marginalisation and agitation for resource control, oil spills compensation claims and breakdown in communal social structures.
Other causes of restiveness in the region according to him, include corruption and political manipulations; proliferation of arms and ammunition; and the weaknesses of key security agencies and the law enforcement institutions.
He faulted the delay in the passage of the bill on Niger Delta Master Plan.
Omiyi said, �All our development is integrated into the master plan but by the time they go to the National Assembly, they don�t quite come out the way they were planned.�
He said that strict adherence to the policy programme contained in the master plan for the Niger Delta was the key to addressing the situation in the area.
He noted that so far, there had been a lot of buck-passing on who should do what among government institutions and other stakeholders, which had contributed to the current crises in the region.
He argued, �The NDDC master plan captures everything that will provide for sustainable development in the rregion, and every stakeholder must perform its role as spelt out in the plan.�
He, however, noted that such had not been the case so far, as the execution of the master plan was handicapped mainly by its management and funding of its programmes.
He observed that the current situation where the National Assembly still controlled the funds of the commission was a big problem.
�Sometimes, the funds are not approved for over a year, thus slowing down the pace of progammes� execution,� he said.
He added that since all the joint venture oil and gas development programmes for the area were integrated into the plan, many of these plans were distorted by the time they were to undergo legislative scrutiny.
In view of the crises in the region, Omiyi stated that the situation called for a re-affirmation of the respective roles of every stakeholder, including governments at all levels; the oil and gas operators; the non-governmental organisations; as well as the community based organisations.
He said, �The most desirable and sustainable way forward is through an urgent development investment in the region, anchored on a master plan, supported by all stakeholders, with clear and acceptable roles, monitored transparently and backed by full enforcement of law and order.�