The problems associated with the operations of the 30 oil wells belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company in Ogoniland is set to be resolved as the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC), the producing arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is set to take over the operations of the fields soon. The NPDC will enter into partnership with Shell Petroleum Development Company, which was forced to abandon the fields as a result of the intractable Ogoni crisis which eventually led to the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa, an environmental campaigner and other activists, in 1995.
Confirming the development, the managing director of NPDC, Abbiye Mambere, told BusinessDay at the Petroleum Roundtable conference organised by the Center for Petroleum Information, that negotiations for the oil fields would be completed soon, as getting the fields operational is part of the growth plan of the company.
Shell will hand over the operation of the fields to NPDC while it holds forth for the interest of the NNPC in the fields.He said that NPDC will take over the operations of the oil fields as part of the steps to grow its reserve base, adding that NPDC hopes to hit 500 million barrels in reserves in the near future. “By 2015, the company is expected to hit 750 million barrels of reserves. By 2011, more sophisticated technological equipment would be deployed for acquisition of seismic data.”
The area includes about 30 wells with a production capacity of approximately 50,000 barrels of oil per day. The wells also produce natural gas for domestic and industrial use, but crude production is currently shut down due to on-going repairs of an export pipeline damaged in late 2008.
Industry operators said allowing a local company to take up the operations of the fields is good even if it’s only for the purpose of resolving the crisis in Ogoniland.The managing director and chief executive officer of the Rivers State-owned oil and gas company, Treasurer Resources Limited, Eddy Wikina, told BusinessDay his company has had discussions with both Shell and NPDC managements on the need for a partnership. Shell has produced no oil or gas from Ogoni fields since 1993, although Ogoniland continues to serve as a transit route for pipelines transporting both Shell and third-party oil production from other areas.
Shell had publicly called for reconciliation among Ogonis on the one hand, and between the Ogonis and Shell on the other, while it continues its community development programme in the area despite the fact that it is no longer producing there.
It also offered to clean up oil spills that had occurred in the area since it left, regardless of their cause.In June 2008, the government announced it would replace Shell with another operator (possibly the NNPC) in Ogoniland as the best solution to end the stalemate between the company and the community.
The company had indicated its readiness to accept the appointment of any of the partners in the Joint Venture (JV) as operator of the licence, in accordance with the Joint Operating Agreement (JOA) and to cooperate with the government on the proposed plan to transfer operations. Shell stopped production in Ogoniland and withdrew from the area in 1993 after violence targeting its facilities and staff.
However, violence in Ogoniland continued and in May 1994, four prominent Ogoni leaders were murdered by a mob. Ken Saro-Wiwa, then president of the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) and eight others, were accused of complicity in the murders, tried by a military tribunal, found guilty and executed in 1995.