Abuja has tied the re-opening of closed oil wells in the Niger Delta to the release of the three remaining abducted expatriates.
But there are indications that the dialogue initiated by the hostage takers, the Movement for Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND), has started yielding positive result.
One of the persons the MEND appointed to negotiate with the government, Oronto Douglas, on Tuesday met with the High Commissioners of United Kingdom and Canada, the United States ambassador, Director General of State Security Services (SSS), Col. Kayode Are and top officials of Aso Rock.
One of the aides of Oronto, who picked his call and identified himself as Charles, confirmed that the man has participated in meetings on the hostage situation.
�The journey to bring peace, happiness and justice to our people has started; it is not going to be easy but justice is what our people are seeking. It is what we are urging other Nigerians to demand from the present and future government of Nigeria�.
A Western diplomat said �we will be favourably disposed to support the Federal Government in an all inclusive dialogue process that will look at the issues of Niger Delta from the political point of view�.
He narrated that the international community is mounting pressure on the government not to use the �old tactics of brute force� to tackle the crisis.
�The militants met and took a decision to dialogue with the government; we must encourage that process and the international community is responding positively to it. We have to be very careful; the superior intelligence of the militants, in terms of their operational activities � their capacity to move to different groups with the same course � is frightening�, he stated.
According to the diplomat, there is fear in the international community that the �masked militants would melt� with the larger society and react to their perceived oppression by attacking their perceived enemies, which may lead to a greater instability in the country.
�There is a serious concern that the Federal Government has not capitalised on the present civil rule to address a purely political matter. There is a huge fear that fifth columnists may capitalise on the present political tension in the country, created by third term, to cause chaos by linking up with the militants in the creeks�.
Since the latest round of crisis, several oil facilities have either been destroyed or come under the threat of sabotage, resulting in the closure of more than 500,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd).
President Olusegun Obasanjo spoke on the re-opening of the wells on Tuesday through the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Edmund Daukoru, at the opening of the 10th Offshore West Africa (OWA) Conference and Exhibition in Abuja.
Obasanjo described the conflict as sad and unfortunate, but assured international investors that it is temporary, as the government is doing its best to resolve it through dialogue.
His words: �We are determined to provide a conducive environment for investors in the region. I want to call on all stakeholders in the Niger Delta once again to employ dialogue rather than militancy, whatever the issues may be, and take full advantage of the listening disposition of this government�.
The Gulf of Guinea, he pointed out, is one of the most prolific hydrocarbon provinces in the world, with oil and gas discoveries topping 10 billion barrel reserves, and Nigeria exercising jurisdiction over more than 60 per cent of them.
Despite the challenge posed by the crisis, he said Nigeria is determined to remain in the forefront to contribute its share to meet the surge in global oil and gas demand by opening up new frontiers in deepwater acreages. Global oil and gas demand is projected to reach 113 million bpd by 2030.
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Group Managing Director, Funso Kupolokun, explained that the entire Gulf of Guinea is facing the challenge of limited local capacity to support deepwater operations.
This, he added, prompted the Local Content Policy that would increase Nigerian content to 45 per cent by 2006 and 70 per cent by 2010.Kupolokun was represented by NNPC Executive Director, Exploration and Production, Edmund Ayoola.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO) Managing Director, Chima Ibeneche, said the company is willing to adopt promising local firms and groom them as international suppliers of goods and services in the industry.
He expressed regret that Shell�s proposal to the NNPC to adopt its subsidiary, the National Engineering and Technical Company (NETCO), along with two local engineering companies to perform FEED for Shell for five to seven years is yet to receive approval.