By Roseline Okere, Sulaimon Salau and Chido Okafor
Militants
in the Niger Delta yesterday blew up the Chevron Valve Platform located
on the high sea near Escravos in Warri, Delta State in a renewed attack
on oil installations in the country.
The attack is
another setback to the nation's oil and gas production sector, even as
the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) is still working to
restore the Forcados export terminals after a similar attack two months
ago.
Nigerian Navy
spokesperson, Chris Ezekobe, who confirmed the incident yesterday, said
the attack occurred about 40 nautical miles from the Escravos terminal,
around the city of Warri.
Ezekobe said he was yet to know which militant group was responsible and there were no immediate details of any casualties.
The development may
further reduce the nation's oil and gas output. But Chevron is yet to
confirm if production has been halted at Escravos and how much of the
process is affected.
A source at Chevron
who confirmed the attack said that the company is working on a public
statement, which was not ready as at press time.
It was learnt that the facility was completely destroyed with the use of a dynamite.
The Niger Delta
Avengers (NDA), a new militant group, has claimed responsibility for the
attack, warning that the deployment of soldiers in the region would not
deter them from carrying out further attacks.
NDA threatened not to relent until it cripples the nation's economy.
A statement by the
group's spokesman, Madoch Agbinibo, noted: "The high command of the
Niger Delta Avengers wants to use this medium to thank Strike Team 6 for
successfully blowing up the Chevron Valve Platform. And we are ready to
protect the Niger Delta people.
"This is what we
promised the Nigerian government. Since they refused to listen to us we
are going to zero the economy of the country.
"As for zeroing the
Nigerian economy, the Niger Delta Avengers is done with the Niger Delta
major oil installations. Now, we are taking the fight out of the creeks
of the Niger Delta. We are taking it to Abuja and Lagos now," he said.
Agbinibo continued:
"We want to pass this message to the all international oil companies
operating in the Niger Delta that the Nigeria military cannot protect
their facilities. They should talk to the Federal Government to meet our
demands else more mishap will befall their installations."
The group had earlier claimed responsibility for the attack on the Forcados 48-inch Export Pipeline two months ago.
An attack was
launched early this year on Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS)
connected to Chevron Nigeria Limited's gas network at Escravos. This
negatively impacted gas supply to some critical power projects.
The Federal
Ministry of Power said the attack cut off the supply of 160 million
metres standard cubic feet per day (MMSCD) of gas to operators of
electricity generation facilities and a cut in power supply from the
affected power plants.
Meanwhile,
indigenous companies operating within the Nigerian petroleum economy
yesterday raised the alarm over the uncertainty surrounding the
international crude oil prices which has led to the deferment of
investment plans or outright cancellation of capital projects.
Their fear was
based on the fact that the local content capabilities that have been
built in the industry over the years may be in danger of being eroded if
the companies do not survive the downturn.
This is further
compounded by the expectations of the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
which has projected that growth in Nigeria and other oil-exporting
countries would decline to 2.2 per cent this year.
Operators stressed
the need to reduce cost of operations and projects through local
capacity development, indigenous working assets acquisitions, developing
local expertise, low maintenance and reduction of operational costs of
existing assets.
According to the
operators at the content workshop with the theme "Local Content
Implementation in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry: A Cost Reduction
Strategy," organised by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria
(PETAN), there should be cost-effective implementation of projects and
utilisation of local resources to reduce overall cost.
They said there
should be a policy direction to focus on sustainability of Nigerian
local capacity to survive the declining crude oil prices.
At the event,
Chairman of PETAN, Mazi Bank-Anthony Okoroafor, stressed the need for
the industry to be placed on existing in-country capacity instead of
patronage, adding that Nigeria should actively pursue reserves and
production growth, which he said, has been on the decline.
Okoroafor stressed
leveraging proven Nigerian companies and in-country capacity building,
adding that proper implementation of the Nigerian oil and gas industry
content development would significantly drive down the cost of doing
business in the industry and cushion the effects of the low prices.
He stated: "The
industry has operated under the Local Content Act regime for six years
now and there is the need to take a closer look at the implementation
strategy to ensure it is delivering the desired value to various
industry stakeholders in particular and the Nigerian populace in
general. Proper implementation of local content will lead to massive
economic transformation of our great nation."
Chairman, PETAN
Conference Committee, Ranti Omole, stated that based on the belief of
indigenous companies, the association is partnering to reduce cost of
operations and projects in Nigeria through increased local patronage.
He said: "The
industry has been undergoing challenges and facing turbulent period for
the past two years due to low prices of crude oil and low demand. This
has resulted in severe adverse consequences in the industry as well as
on the economy of many oil-producing nations including our country.
"This has led major
players in the industry to rationalise their operations, seek
efficiencies and cost-saving measures to ensure profitability and
survival of their businesses."
Acting Executive
Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Daziba
Obah, said with the right support and environment, indigenous companies
were best positioned to provide services at lower cost without
compromising standards.
Obah added that
there was an opportunity to leverage the low value of the naira to
source services, technology and solutions locally at much cheaper cost.
He noted that there
would be much more cost-savings if operators develop increased project
management capabilities, stressing: "Operators will save costs by
optimising existing facilities and improving maintenance efficiencies."
Dwelling on the
role of the Federal Government to help save indigenous companies from
the pangs of crude oil prices, former Chairman of PETAN, Emeka Ene, said
that there was the need to develop the steel sector for local
production of steel billets, coils and plate.
Ene added that
government should accelerate gas infrastructure along gas corridors to
ease the availability of gas in oil and gas parks, oil and gas free
zones and other manufacturing locations supporting oil and gas
activities.
"There is the need
to engage relevant agencies in foster cordial and seamless working
relationship with respect to expatriate quota and issuance of work
permit.
"There should also
be a periodic industry-wide capacity audit of local companies to
establish current capacities and embark on gap closure interventions.
Research and development clusters should be encouraged to promote the
development of home-grown technology," he said.
According to the
IMF's April 2016 regional outlook report, economic activities in
sub-Saharan Africa have weakened markedly, with growth for the region as
a whole, falling 3.5 percent in 2015, the lowest in 15 years.
Specifically, the
IMF expects the economy to slow further in Angola, given, among other
factors, limited foreign exchange supply and lower levels of public
spending, and in Nigeria as the adverse impact of lower oil prices is
compounded by disruptions to private sector activities through exchange
rate restrictions.
The report stated:
"In view of these trends, governments should consider a set of policy
options tailoring the urgency of adjustment to the extent of domestic
vulnerabilities.
"Commodity prices
have fallen sharply and, for energy prices, at an unprecedented pace.
Oil and other commodity exporters are adjusting, but given the extent of
the shock they are facing, policies are currently 'behind the curve.' "
Guardian
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