Chevron Nigeria limited said its joint ventures with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation has between 2005 to 2015 contributed about N16.7 billion to infrastructural development of its host communities.
BusinessDay reports that the infrastructural projects were executed under the Regional Development Committees of the oil giant’s Global Memorandum of Understandings (GMOUs) to stem the tide of hostilities and empower its host communities.
Olatunji Idowu, Manager, Social Performance and Planning of the department of Policy Government and Public Affairs of Chevron Nigeria Limited gave the hint at a two-day Media Capacity Building Program for Journalists organized by NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture in Asaba, Delta State capital.
Idowu in his paper 10 years of GMOU-Chevron Community Engagement strategy in the Niger Delta also added that the Regional Development Committees (RDCs) have completed and commissioned projects worth N13.2 billion while new ones are underway to enhance the quality of the host communities.
He said the N16.7 billion was expended on the execution of over 500 projects in the host communities in the past 10 years.
He listed some of the projects to include, health, education, bridges, jetties, town halls, electricity, economic empowerment among others.
He explained that the GMOU entails execution of projects from the cradle to completion, noting that projects were selected and awarded to community’s contractors to instil senses of ownership in them.
Idowu further posited that in the last 10 years, the GMOU and RDCs had focussed on infrastructural projects, job creation and enhancement of livelihoods of members of its host communities.
“The GMOU is geared towards placing more emphasis on projects and program that will enhance sustainable economic empowerment, employment generation and alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” he said.
Earlier, Clementina Mejebi Arubi, Deputy Manager, Deputy Manager, Community Development ‘B’ of the Public Affairs Department, Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation-National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NNPC-NAIMS) said the nation lost about
160 million barrels of crude oil valued at $13.7 billion to theft from
2009 to 2012.
Arubi who quoted the last August reports by the Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative (NEITI) submitted by international oil companies which said the lost was occasioned by the twin scourge of pipe line vandalism and oil theft in the Niger Delta region.
She also said, according to another report by NEITI between 2009 and 2011, over over136 million barrels of crude oil worth $10.9 billion were lost to theft and pipeline vandalism.
She also attributed river and land pollution; environmental degradation; increased criminality and insecurity in the oil rich, impoverished Niger Delta region; shut down and force de majeur by the international companies leading to loss of revenues; and high number of death as some of the result of the hydra-headed scourge.
While contending that the upsurge of oil theft requires multilateral and concerted effort to address the problem, she however advised all stakeholders in the oil industry, oil communities and security forces to be involved in solving the menace.
The Deputy Manager however berated the estimate by former Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy that well over 400, 000 barrels of crude oil amounting to N7 billion is lost daily to the activities of these oil thieves.
Arubi said that oil theft and pipeline vandalism impeding the national economy and also results in lost income to the oil companies and other stakeholders.
IDRIS UMAR MOMOH
