Residents of the Niger Delta region have asked Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and other International Oil Companies (IOCs) of not to abandon over 10,000 pollution cases perpetrated in the region by their oil exploration.
While Shell is planning to sell her Nigeria affiliate, SPDC to an indigenous Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, other IOCs like Agip have sold theirs to Oando, while TotalEnergies are also planning to divest their assets amidst the years of environmental pollution occasioned by oil spills and gas flaring.
The disclosure by Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, a local oil and gas consortium, that it has received ministerial consent to acquire Shell Petroleum Development Company after getting approval from the federal government led to protest by Niger Delta region women, who call for remediation of polluted environment before divestment.
Speaking during the protest in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State capital over the weekend, some women from Otuoabagi Community, where Oloibiri oil is located, Mrs Joy Suoye and Inise Siba Daniel, narrated their ordeals, stating that the years of environmental pollution has affected the health of the people of the community. They questioned Shell’s plan to leave Nigeria when the years of environmental pollution are not remediated, “We cannot fetch water from our rivers anymore, we cannot fish from our water and farmlands is gone because of pollution, the air we breathe is filled with toxic hydrocarbon, and the people that have perpetrated this in our environment are talking about divestment without cleaning up the environment.”
“This is injustice done to a fellow human, how can the oil companies come to our environment, take advantage of our simplicity, pollute the environment while doing their business, now instead of them to clean the pollution, they are talking about divestment, the first thing to do is to restore the ecosystem before selling whatsoever asset they have,” Mrs Suoye said.
Also, women from Niger Delta in their position paper signed by Dr. Emem Okon of Kebetkache Women Development and Resource Centre and over 15 women groups in the region, said that Shell’s decision to sell its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and all onshore assets to investors without consulting communities is unhealthy, unethical, irresponsible and therefore unacceptable.
Speaking on behalf of the women, Barr. Dise Ogbise-Goddy of Do Foundation, said it was injustice for Shell to divest from onshore without restoring the ecosystem in Niger Delta where they have polluted over the years.
She said communities in the Niger Delta have been at the receiving end of the environmental devastation caused by the company’s activities.
“Shell PLC plans to sell SPDC shares to Renaissance Africa Energy, a consortium of investors, without regard for its legacy of environmental damage and the need for appropriate consultation with all stakeholders, remedies, and social and legal license to exit.
She said: “It is instructive that the company has already divested OML 34 to ND Western; OML 17 and OML 29 without proper guidelines. We use this medium to call on the federal government not to approve Shell’s planned sale of oil assets in Nigeria until all polluted farmlands in the Niger Delta have been cleaned and restored by these companies.
“The story is similar to other oil majors in Nigeria. Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC), Exxon Mobil Nigeria Limited, and Total Energy Nigeria Limited are poised to divest their onshore assets without engaging host communities and rectifying the damages done to their environment and the well-being of people.”
She said as affected Niger Delta women, they are concerned about the swiftness of the divestment plans because the government has not provided guidelines to resolve pollution issues before SPDC, AGIP, and Total Energies leave, saying, “The companies involved have failed to create women development funds to help victims of oil extraction. Women in the Niger Delta suffer severe environmental consequences of oil extraction.
“Decades of oil pollution and destitution have placed them in a vulnerable position, impeding subsistence agriculture and causing health complications.
“Women are concerned because the reputations of the new corporations acquiring SPDC, AGIP, and Exxon Mobil assets are unknown to them. In addition, gas flaring in Ebocha, Ibeno, Umuechem, and other regions has continued as of this instant; communities such as Otuabagi continue to endure the repercussions.
When contacted, the spokesman for Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr Michael Adande, requested that an official inquiry be sent to him via email but he was yet to reply as of time the report was filed.
“The severe disruption to agriculture, fishing, and hunting has caused health issues among women who have been exposed to hydrocarbons. The planned divestment has not considered the interests of community people, particularly women.”
The women urged Renaissance Africa Energy to make public all documents submitted for the acquisition of SPDC and all proofs of compliance with the checklist and guidelines for divestment of oil assets.
She called on the federal government not to approve the divestment of oil assets until all polluted farmlands, rivers, air, and forests in the Niger Delta have been cleaned and restored.
A renowned environmentalist and representative of Environmental Defenders Network (EDEN) in Bayelsa State, Comrade Morris Alagoa, called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to uphold the NUPRC rejection of Shell request to sell its remaining shares in the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to the Renaissance consortium.
He said any buyer that is buying should ensure that it’s on black and white that is buying both assets and liabilities.
According to him, the oil bearing communities have been crying of pending liabilities such as unclean and unpremeditated sites and pending legal cases as regards compensation.
He said: “We are here to deliver a message to the government of president Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he should not allow Shell and others for now to divest because we have seen what Oando is doing after Agip divested 100 per cent to Oando.”
“We have seen four major oil spills in the Ogboinbiri environment and three of them were due to equipment failures, old worn-out pipelines and instead of clean up, Oando has carry-on with the culture of Agip of setting spill sites ablaze”.
Meanwhile, generally the people of Niger Delta are of the opinion that years of crude oil exploration in the region have brought both blessings and suffering to the people of the area, as most of the ecosystem in the region including rivers, streams, farmlands and air space have been polluted by the toxic chemicals discharged from oil and gas exploration.
Findings from Daily Trust indicate that the total number of pollution cases in the region is ranging from 10,000 to 17,000 in 2024.
Sadly today, the people are now facing the realities of pollution and living with it.
In January, Shell said it agreed to sell its Nigerian onshore oil assets to Renaissance Africa for over $1.3bn — subject to regulatory approvals.
For decades, oil majors operating in Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil exporter, have been retreating from onshore operations hampered by theft and sabotage, opting to focus future investments on newer and more lucrative deep offshore fields.
The Shell assets hold a combined estimated volume of 6.73 billion barrels of oil and condensate and 56.27 trillion cubic feet of associated and non-associated gas.
Also, the French oil major TotalEnergies EP Nigeria has announced that it has signed a sale and purchase agreement with Chappal Energies to sell its 10% interest in Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) Joint Ventures.
The onshore assets will be sold to the indigenous oil company for US$ 860 million as the agreement is set to be finalised by December 31, 2024. This represents the oil company’s strategic move to divest from Nigeria’s onshore segment in favour of a more secure offshore environment.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
