• NNPC to extend West African gas pipeline to Côte d’Ivoire
The Federal Government has commenced consultations with stakeholders in
the oil and gas sector, aimed at re-activating Shell Nigeria Exploration and
Production
Company Limited (SNEPCO), the Bonga oilfield.
At the bi- annual stakeholders engagement meeting in Abuja, Minister of
State for Environment, Ibrahim Jibril, said the oilfield is very important to
Nigeria, and both should implement its mandate for the sustainability of the
project.
Represented by the Director of Environmental Assessment, John Alonge, he
urged SNEPCO to make integrity, transparency as its watchword, in all
transactions. He stressed that there must be compliance because both have lots
of issues to contend with.
According to him, Shell and the ministry must have social and technical
dialogues so that both would be on the same template to move the project
forward.
Presenting a paper on Bonga Southwest Aparo reframed project /scope and
proposed EIA plan, Raphael Afolabi of Shell, said they have updated the concept
and it is now going to run from 2018-2023 in three phases.
He said, “they are expecting one billion barrels of oil from Bonga
project, and would expend over $10 billion; technical works are going, while
stakeholders have been very supportive. We would come back to government.”
He said the Federal Government had to reframe Bonga because of low oil
price, promising that optimum Nigerian content would be applied in all cases,
and go beyond this project.
An Environmental Manager, Augustine Ibukun, said oil producing
communities would continue to have negative impacts, the multinationals should
see how to open dialogue and discussions with them and work out plans to
eliminate emission.
Meanwhile, plans are underway by the Nigerian National Petroleum
Corporation (NNPC) to extent the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) from Ghana to
Cote d’ Ivoire as part of the Federal Government West African energy
integration policy.
The Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Maikanti Baru, made this
disclosure yesterday while receiving a delegation from Cote d’Ivoire at the
NNPC Towers in Abuja.
Represented by the Chief Operating Officer, Gas and Power, Saidu
Mohammed, the GMD stated that the extension of WAGP to Cote d’Ivoire would
facilitate easy transmission of gas within the West African sub-region.
Leader of the Ivoirian delegation and Deputy Director, Production, of
Ministry of Petroleum, Cote d’ Ivoire, Mr. Patrick Marshal, said the visit was
to learn from Nigeria some of its best practices in personnel management,
exploration and production in the oil and gas industry.
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