Francis Sadhere
The Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has assured the people of the Niger Delta region that the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) will soon be signed into law, stressing that concerted efforts are being made to lobby the National Assembly to quickly sign the bill into law.
The Governor stated this today in his key note address during the occasion of the 2nd Edition of the Delta State Oil and Gas Industry stakeholders Conference held at the Petroleum Training Institute, PTI, Effurun, Delta State.
Governor Uduaghan stated that the only thing holding the passing of the PIB into law was the issue of how the 10% that will be given to the host communities will be handled.
He therefore advocated that the 10% should be put in a trust fund for the communities to avoid crisis, noting that they have seen situations whereby money given to communities had resulted in bitter rivalry between them.
The Delta State Governor also identified crude oil theft as the 4th largest industry in the country, stressing that concerted efforts must be put in place to stop it.
The Governor who noted that about a hundred barrels of crude oil are stolen from the Niger Delta on daily basis, appealed to all stakeholders to collaborate with government to bring this trend to an end.
“Crude oil theft is about the 4th largest industry in the country. A lot of arrests have been made, but a lot still needs to be done. As a community we need to look at the implication of illegal refineries. We must make concerted effort to stop it,” Governor Uduaghan said.
Governor Uduaghan said the aim of the conference was to ensure that crude oil theft and illegal refineries are brought to an end, assuring the people that all the governors of the Niger Delta states were calling on the National Assembly to pass the Petroleum Industry Bill, and that it will soon be passed into law.
He attributed the high rate of crude oil theft to divestment of Shell which left it oil wells in the hands of SEPLAT and NPDC, stressing that some oil well heads handled by NPDC have been abandoned, giving way for oil thief to have free access to the oil wells.
In his address, Commissioner of Oil and Gas, Mr. Mofe Pirah, said that since the first conference, the ministry’s focus has been guided by the initial engagement.
According to him, the second edition of the conference is to build on the lessons of the first conference, adding that it was also aimed at providing a forum that will bring together relevant stakeholders to exchange ideas on the best practices locally and globally, and on how to secure and protect the huge investment in the oil and gas industry in the state.
The Commissioner stated that the theme of the conference, ‘Securing Oil and Gas in Delta state: The Role of Stakeholders’; will focus on “how we can collectively curb crude oil theft, especially within our environment; prepare and address the minds of our esteemed host communities on environment impacts of pollution and its attended long term effects, including the need to domicile surveillance contract in the various oil communities in the state.”
Presenting a paper; Crude Oil Theft and illegal refining in the Niger Delta-the SPDC perspective, the Manager, Ogoni Restoration Project, Augustine Igbuku, called for coordinated multi-level action against oil theft, “because we recognize that all parties must contribute to these efforts if we are to stand a chance in ending crude oil theft and illegal refining”.
“Our responsibility to the people and the environment of the Niger Delta, compels us to act, and to encourage others to do the same,” he said.
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