‘Why we’re urging FG to move NPDC to Warri’

Zik Gbemre, an activist, is the national coordinator of Niger Delta Peace Coalition. He told CHIDO OKAFOR why his group is pressurising government to move the head office of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to Warri from its present location in Benin City. NPDC inherited Shell Petroleum Development Company’s assets in Delta State, after the oil giant pulled out of the state a few years ago. Excerpts: 
WHAT is the agitation for the NPDC to relocate office from Benin to Warri all about?
It is no longer news that Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) had sold off or divested all its onshore oil, gas and condensate assets/interests in Delta State, some of which include OML 34, OML 30, OML 38, OML 41, OML 26, 42, etc. And the Federal Government through the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), had directed NNPC subsidiary - the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) to take over these divested interests as operating partners, which they have done and had started full operations since January 2013.
  While we are in full support of NPDC’s takeover of these divested oil, gas and condensate assets in Delta State, which they have proven to have what it takes to adequately manage and supervise these operations, however, we consider it inappropriate and completely out of place that NPDC is currently still operating the said divested oil, gas and condensate assets in Delta State, from their Benin Head Office (Edo State). What is even more disturbing is the fact that the Federal Government is presently building another gigantic edifice in Benin for NPDC to use as their main Head Office. Let us reiterate the fact that since the said Shell (SPDC) divestment, all the oil companies and oil service providers in and around Warri and environs are migrating to Benin; thereby making Warri and environs ghost towns with less and less business activities.
   The situation has adversely affected the economic life in Warri and its environs, as oil companies like Pan-Ocean Ltd have relocated out of Warri. Imagine a situation where a Delta State man who has crude oil and gas in his backyard, is now forced to travel all the way to NPDC Head Office in Benin for every job opportunity/contract.
    Despite the fact that Shell (SPDC) had left in the custody of NPDC, over 1000 (One thousand) Office Complexes and Residential Buildings in Warri, which Shell (SPDC) had vacated, plus Jetties, Warehouses, Helipads/Heliports and over six Gas-powered Power Turbine Stations, NPDC still does not consider it expedient to relocate from their Benin Office to Warri, Delta State. There is also a Training School in Warri called SITP1 (Special Intensive Training Programme 1), which is the best training school on oil, gas and condensate in Africa. And Shell (SPDC) was operating and running these assets (including the training school) in Warri before its exit from Delta State. Consequent upon the divestments, NPDC inherited all the Buildings both offices and residences from Shell (SPDC) in Warri. But today all these office complexes and residential buildings are empty, and are being overgrown with weeds, as NPDC has not come to take over what they have inherited from Shell (SPDC) from the divestment. This means they will have to spend serious money to maintain the structure and premises of these Office Complexes and Residential areas when it is time to use them. At the moment, NPDC has begun to Lease most of the said Office Complexes and Residential Buildings they inherited from Shell (SPDC). This to us is an abnormality of the highest order and a shame that needs to be reversed.
Could you give us an idea of the nature of the assets in Delta State which NPDC inherited from Shell?
 Among the oil and gas fields sold/divested by Shell (SPDC) and now operated by SEPLAT but under the supervision of NPDC, include: OML 38 which covers Amukpe, Ovhor and Okporhuru Fields and additional underdeveloped Fields and unappraised Fields all in Delta State. Others are OML 41 which covers Sapele and two discoveries; OML 40 covers Opuama in Delta State. While OML 42 covers Batan, Egwa, Odidi, Jones Creek Fields in Delta State; OML 26 covers Ogini, Isoko Fields in Delta State; OML 34 covers Utorogu, Ughelli West, Ughelli East Fields of Delta State. OML 34, specifically Utorogu, is the area where we have the ongoing Utorogu NAG-2 (aka New Utorogu Gas Plant) Project and the old Utorogu Gas Plant (Utorogu NAG-1). For OML 30, it covers some parts of Eruemukohwarien and Effurun-Otor, Evwreni, Kokori, Eriemu, Afieseri, Osioka, Ughelli Pump Station (UPS) and Olomoro/Oleh in Delta State. Though OML 38 and OML 41 in Delta State are operated by SEPLAT, they are still being regulated and supervised by NPDC as the senior government operators.
You recently claimed that Warri was losing its status as an oil city. What are the things you observed that led to this conclusion?
The “Oil City”, which you and I grew up to know as Warri, is no longer the Oil City. Rather, Benin is now the New Oil City, as oil companies have relocated in droves from Warri to Benin. It is disturbing to note that 99.5% of NPDC current operations are in Delta State, yet their Head Office is still left to remain and operate from Benin. Even the crude oil extracted by NPDC and its partners are exported through the Forcados Terminal located in Delta State. Not to mention the Warri Refinery that is also in Delta State. In other words, everything about and around NPDC operations are in Delta State. Even all the revenue, including income tax, withholding tax that are tied to the operations of NPDC in the oil and gas sector of Delta State are going to the Edo State Government. Whereas, Warri, that bears the grunt of the extractive industry is practically left to dry to death.
   The Delta State Government should not sit back and fold its hands and allow our resources to be used to develop another State. Let us reiterate the fact that Shell (SPDC) originally built the Osubi Airstrip because they wanted to make Warri the Oil hub of the region. That is why every of their facilities and assets left behind in Warri are of high international standard. But all that is today lying waste and being overgrown with weeds/grass just because NPDC has not been made to take possession of what was left behind for them.
Is it practically and technically possible to relocate NPDC head office in Benin to Warri? 
Yes it is very possible. All that is required to make NPDC relocate its Head Office from Benin to Warri is a ‘directive’ from the Presidency through the Minister of Petroleum Resources. This was how former President Olusegun Obasanjo directed for the immediate relocation of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Head office from Abuja to Lagos, when he argued that the NPA has no business in Abuja but Lagos; where Ports business activities are located.
  The fact is that 99.5% of NPDC operations (of Oil, gas and condensate assets) are in Delta State. If NPDC should be allowed to continue operating and running these Shell (SPDC) divested oil, gas and condensate assets in Delta State from Benin in Edo State, it is encouraging broad day light robbery. It is like robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is inappropriate to use the resources of one to feed another and still refuse to occupy the space provided by the owners of the same resources. Benin is not Delta State but Edo State. One is not expected to cook food in Delta State and take the prepared food to feed people in Edo State; whereas Deltans are hungry and salivating. Deltans are also the ones that suffer the environmental hazards caused by the oil and gas exploration activities in their lands.
  Delta State’s quietness and kind gesture should not be taken for granted by the relevant authorities in the industry and government circles. It is this sort of injustice that created the Niger Delta crises in the first place. The ‘marginalization’ that is often talked about today is exactly like this. When sensitive issues like this are not given the needed attention, they have the propensity to snowball into unanticipated crises for all stakeholders. We fear that if the current situation is left to remain and not reversed, Deltans will one day rise up strongly in protest of the anomaly; by then, it might be too late to make amends. When people are being ‘oppressed’ over what is rightfully their own, one day they will unite and rise against such oppression and injustice. Hence, it is better to nip the situation in the bud before it is too late. Like the former USA President, Abraham Lincoln once said: “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”
   Everything that will make NPDC operate effectively and efficiently as an oil company are in Warri, Delta State. Aside the over One Thousand (1000) Houses/Office Complexes and Residential Buildings left behind by Shell (SPDC) for NPDC to takeover, other assets also left behind as stated above include: Warehouses, Helipads, over Six (6) Gas-Powered Turbine Stations, Jetties, a Hospital, a Fire-fighting Station, Recreational Centers like a Golf Course, a Nursery/Primary School, etc. Even the crude oil extracted by NPDC and its partners are exported through the Forcados Terminal located in Delta State. Let us also remember that there is the Warri Petroleum Refinery. The qualities of these facilities are equally of international standard and they took decades to have been built in Warri Delta State by Shell (SPDC). With all of this in place for NPDC to takeover, what then is the company still doing in Benin?
But, do you think Edo State will lie low and allow the NPDC head office to be relocated to Warri?
This current arrangement, where NPDC has been made to remain in Benin and not Warri, was influenced and orchestrated by highly influential personalities of Edo State extraction that are within the oil and gas industry, including traditional rulers/powerful monarchs from Edo State. These top and influential personalities within and outside the industry are bent on allocating to Edo State, what rightfully belongs to Delta State and its people. But the point is, if they want NPDC Head Office to remain in Edo State, then NPDC should be made to only focus on operating or managing the oil and gas assets solely in Edo State, while they leave the oil and gas assets in Delta State alone.They should stop tapping the oil and gas/condensate in Delta State. We will not accept that!
NPDC officials say they run an office in Warri. Is it true?
That is not true. It is imperative for NPDC to have the office of the Managing Director (MD), all the asset managers of OML 30, OML 34, OML 26, OML 40, OML 42, OML 38, etc and all the Executive Directors, in Warri, Delta State. In other words, these top NPDC Managers and Executive Directors and the Managing Director should be relocated to Warri, Delta State, as NPDC’s Head Office in Delta State, while NPDC should only have a ‘Branch’ of its office in Benin, Edo State.
  NPDC cannot continue to operate from Benin, Edo State whereas all its inherited oil and gas assets/operations are in Delta State. As a result of this anomaly, everything concerning the oil and gas operations of Shell (SPDC) divested assets/interests is carried out by NPDC in Benin, Edo State. This includes employment opportunities and contracts; thereby making all the various tax revenues surrounding these operations to go to Edo State instead of Delta State that bears the pains of the extractive industry.
  It is in the same light that we ask that NPDC, whose 99.5% operations are in Delta State, should be made to promptly relocate their Head Office and top Management Staff from Benin Edo State to Warri, Delta State. There are already existing empty Office Buildings and Residential estates in Warri, Delta State that were vacated by Shell (SPDC) and inherited by NPDC. Let us also reiterate the fact that there is an Airport – The Osubi Airport in Warri, Delta State.
  It is in this light that we therefore urge the Presidency and, the Honourable Minister of Petroleum Resources, to effect the directive that will compel NPDC to relocate NPDC’s Head office to Delta State that has 99.5% of its oil, gas and condensate assets/facilities. It is the only lifeline and the best line of action that will turn around the dying businesses in the oil city of Warri for the good of all and sundry. Let us emphasize the fact that though, Edo State is part of the Niger Delta region, however, Edo State is not a ‘core oil-bearing Niger Delta State’. The core oil-bearing Niger Delta States are Delta (Warri), Rivers (Port Harcourt), Bayelsa (Yenagoa) and Akwa Ibom (Eket).
  Let us also reiterate the fact that we are in full support of NPDC operations in Delta State, and we have confidence in their competence to deliver. This is hinged on the fact that there are competent and well-experienced Nigerian Engineers as NPDC Asset Team Manager(s) in OML 34 and others, that can adequately manage, supervise and operate NPDC’s newly acquired assets/interests in Delta State. However, what we are saying and insisting is that NPDC’s Managing Director, all their Asset Managers, Executive Directors including their Finance Department and its Executive Director, should all be made to relocate from Benin, Edo State to Warri, Delta State. NPDC should relocate and come and occupy all the facilities and infrastructure left behind by Shell (SPDC) for them in Warri, Delta State. All that we ask and pray for is that NPDC should relocate their Head office from Benin, Edo State to Warri, Delta State. This is the crux of the matter.
What is your group doing to galvanize Deltans to support your cause?
The Niger Delta Peace Coalition which I coordinate has written severally to the Presidency, the Delta State Government, the National Assembly and personally to some of our leaders in government like Senator Emmanuel Agwariavwado, James Manager, Major Gen. David Ejoor (rtd) on this issue, we are yet to get any positive response in addressing the subject matter.
  All that we got from Senator Agwariavwado was that he has his own ways of doing things, which is still very unclear to us till today. We have even talked to some influential Northern Leaders to persuade Mr. President and we also published recently, a paid advert in The Guardian Newspaper of Thursday May 22, 2014, Page V, calling on the Presidency and relevant stakeholders on Why NPDC Should Be Relocated From Benin, Edo State to Warri, Delta State.
Why do you say that Delta State is the gas hub in West Africa?
The largest natural gas reserve and condensate reserve in West Africa is in Utorogu, Delta State. In fact,  Utorogu Gas Plant is described by Shell (SPDC) as the “gas hub of West Africa”. Utorogu is the life wire of Nigerian Power Stations and domestic industries. Utorogu is also where gas is supplied to neighboring West African countries through the West Africa Gas Pipeline Project (WAGPP) and others.
  Out of these oil and gas assets sold by Shell (SPDC), it is only Oben Field, known as OML 4 (and the ‘smallest’ Field), that is in Edo State and operated by SEPLAT but it is also being regulated by NPDC. That means 99.5% of NPDC current operations are all in Delta State. With this fact in mind, it is therefore considered as unfair and injustice, that NPDC Head Office should remain in Benin, Edo State instead of Warri, Delta State.
  All these important Utorogu oil and gas/condensate assets are operated by NPDC from Benin in Edo State. We are not against NPDC operating the said assets/facilities but what we are saying is that NPDC Head Office should be relocated from Benin, Edo State to Warri, Delta State. The said relocation is taking too long and this needs to be addressed promptly.
What can Delta State government do in this situation?
The Delta Government State seriously needs to do something urgent to address the anomaly regarding the need for NPDC Head Office to be relocated from Benin, Edo State to Warri, Delta State. Shell’s exist from Delta State and NPDC’s continuous stay in Benin, rather than come to take over and occupy the assets/infrastructure left behind by Shell (SPDC), has made Warri a ghost town of economic business activities. It is also sad that despite the fact that we have written severally to the Delta State Government on this issue, the Delta State Governor have not considered it expedient to respond and act appropriately.

‘We go through harrowing experiences’

• Okwagbe community appeals to Delta government over decrepit roads
FOR Okwagbe community in Ughelli South Local Council, Delta State, who have endured the misfortune of unending bumpy and risky journeys due to the failed over 40-kilometre road linking the rural sea community to the rest of the state, there is general displeasure.
 In 2006, the road, which was then un-tarred and almost impassable, cut the community from the rest of the state.
  However following immense pressures by the indigenes of Okwagbe, the attention of the state government was drawn to the road resulting in the alleged fixing of the road between 2006 and 2007.
   But, almost eight years after the tarring of the road and commissioning by the then Governor, James Ibori administration, pot holes and huge craters have surfaced again at different points of the road making travels on the road cumbersome and replete with mishaps.
  The unfortunate major flooding disaster of 2012, which ravelled many coastal communities of Delta state, reportedly took a huge toll on the road with many spots washed away to the sea.
   Recently, it was gathered that a head-on collision between a commercial motorcycle and a vehicle, who were trying to avoid a huge pot hole on the road, led to the loss of two lives. The development has reinforced the recent agitation for an urgent intervention by the state government.
   However, a trip to the community revealed that some of the worst affected spots on the road are being patched up by the Delta state road maintenance agency. In some places, however, the road maintenance agents just dumped granite haphazardly without spreading them properly on the road.
   Chief Olorogun Okiemute Oviri Okwagbe, a community leader and chieftain of the PDP blamed decrepit state of the roads “on poor construction and the refusal of the construction firm to conduct a scientific analysis of the road in order to come up with a more lasting appropriate design.” To him the fund used in the perennial remedial works on the road could be saved if a solid design is put in place.
  Chief Okawagbe who lauded the efforts of the Gov Emmanuel Uduaghan administration in repairing the road after several portions were washed away during the 2012 flooding, said the road keeps failing because of the peculiar soil texture of the area being close to large water bodies. He argued that the road needs special construction technique rather than the one always used.
  He said: “The people of Okwagbe go through harrowing experiences just to travel to their community from Warri or Ughelli. It is so bad that if you are driving on the road you must maintain at least 99 per cent concentration if you don’t want to lose control of your vehicle in the attempt to dodge pot-holes. We’re pleading to the Delta state government to investigate why the Okwagbe road is always failing after it is repaired.”
  “Okwagbe is naturally a producing community; we produce a lot of fish and other agricultural produce but we don’t have good network of roads to take them to the rest of the state. That is why we are appealing to government to urgently come to our aid,” he said.