Ijaw youths shut Jones Creek oil facility, threatening dwindling oil revenue

Ijaw youths shut Jones Creek oil facility, federal revenue may decline further

Revenue accruing from the sale of crude oil, Nigeria’s economic mainstay, may further dip this week following the shut-in of over 200, 000 barrels of the product by aggrieved youths in Warri South -West, Delta State on Thursday.

The protesting youths seized the oil facility, popularly called the Jones Creek Oil Field, which is owned and managed by the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, NPDC.

However, it was gathered that the authorities have already deployed soldiers in the area to prevent a breakdown of the peace and protect the highly priced oil facilities.

Hundreds of protesting youths, who stormed the oil field this morning ordered workers to vacate the flow station, thereby paralyzing production activities in the place.

The Nigerian Times learnt that the affected communities are demonstrating against the alleged breach of agreement they had with Nest Oil Plc, a major contractor to NPDC and Neconde Energy.

It was gathered that there was an agreement that until a new Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Nest Oil Plc, the completion of the project should be withheld.

An MOU typically lists the corporate social responsibility of the oil concerns in the Niger Delta to the host communities , including the provision of employment and social amenities.

Though construction work, laying of pipes, would be allowed to continue, the agreement indicated that the project would not be hooked up to the well heads until the approval of a new MOU with Kokodiagbene, Okerenkoko, Akpatagbegbe, Akpataegbemu and Omadino, host communities to the Jones Creek flow station.

Nest Oil Plc, an indigenous oil firm, allegedly reneged on that undertaking “and secretly embarked on the hook up which the communities uncovered’’, said a source close to the communities.

Mr. Sheriff Mulade, a renowned Niger Delta environmental activist and Spokesperson of the host communities, in a chat, faulted the oil firms for abandoning the host communities.

“Our position is that Nest Oil Plc has not lived up to expectations. The company dumped the earlier agreement reached between the communities in the presence of security agents.

“They are hiding under the cover of security agencies to enter the area and operate. So, we are appealing to the federal government to call NPDC/ Neconde to order, to avoid the escalation of the crisis. What they are doing is because of the security presence otherwise they would not have violated the agreement.

“We are calling on NPDC and Neconde managements, to as a matter of urgency, call a meeting to discuss their Freedom to Operate (FTOs) in the area, otherwise they should pack out of our communities.

Mulade argued that the two indigenous firms have ‘fragrantly and fraudulently’ entered Jones Creek without permission from the communities.

He urged the federal government to dig into the activities of NPDC, Neconde Energy and its major contractor, Nest Oil Plc, alleging that the award of contracts have not been following due process .

- Nigerian Times