• 'Nigeria loses 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily'
THE Federal Government may have earned about $42 billion (N6,720 trillion) from the operations of the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in the last five years.
The Country Chairman, Shell Companies in Nigeria and Managing Director, SPDC, Mutiu Sunmonu, disclosed this yesterday while launching the company's 2013 briefing notes and the new "Let's Go" campaign in Lagos.
Sunmonu, who highlighted the company's contributions to Nigeria's economy in the past years, said the "Let's Go" campaign is a clarion call on all Nigerians to join Shell in doing great things that impact positively on the nation.
According to him, Shell's sister company, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Nigeria Limited (SNEPCo), which operates in the deep offshore water, has also contributed in excess of $25 billion to the government in the last five years (2008-2012).
He stated that the Federal Government receives about 95 per cent of the revenue after cost from the SPDC operated joint venture.
Poised to work in line with the zero gas flare initiative of the Federal Government, the oil multinational said it has commenced gas-gathering projects to cover about 90 per cent of the associated gas produced from its facilities.
The facilities, estimated to gulp about $6 billion, are expected to be completed by 2014/2015.
"In 2012, SPDC committed to two big capital projects (Forcados Yokri and Southern Swamp) that is expected to gather an additional 35 per cent of gas flare by 2014/2015, thus taking the SPDC joint venture flaring intensity to below current global average.
"These projects, when completed, will make more gas available for use in Nigeria power stations and industries, and will extend associated gas gathering (AGG) coverage to more than 90 per cent of the associated gas produced. SPDC estimates the entire AGG programme will cost over $6 billion when completed."
Meanwhile, Chairman of the House of Representatives Downstream Petroleum Resources Committee, Mr. Dagogo Peterside, said in Umuahia, Abia State capital, that Nigeria lost about 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily to pipeline vandalism, describing the scenario as very worrisome.
Peterside disclosed this when members of his committee, on oversight functions in the state, paid a courtesy call on the state Governor Theodore Orji. He thus urged the governor to assist in addressing the trend by causing a round-the-clock security patrol along the pipeline route.
He said one of the consequences of pipeline vandalism has been a drop in revenue allocation and indicated that his committee was exploring the use of budgetary provision to ensure hitch-free operation of the Aba NNPC petroleum products distribution depot.
Governor Orji told the committee that his government took the worrisome matter serious, adding that those who engaged in kidnapping, had, after being dislodged from their nefarious activities, gone into pipeline vandalism. The governor lamented that since then, allocation to the state from oil derivation dropped but asserted that his government was doing all things possible to check it drastically.
Sunmonu, commenting further on the Let's Go campaign, said it is intended to demonstrate Shell's contribution towards a better future for Nigeria and its people.
He said the Shell's message in the adverts are built around gas, health, education and job creation, "and we believe that this 'life' issues will enable Nigerians to relate better to the challenges of a secure energy future".
The campaign, which would be running on newspapers, bill-boards, television and radio stations, is described as the Shell's first advertising of its type in Nigeria since the corporate identity campaign about a decade and half ago.
Sunmonu said, besides the theme being country-specific, the campaign is also Nigeria content-compliant. He added that a Nigerian agency produced all the materials using Nigerian models in locations around the country.
The Guardian