Shell disputes that it broke the Nigerian Content Law

On Wednesday, the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) refuted allegations that at the EA fields in Bayelsa State, it had broken the law governing Nigerian Content.

The Ijaw Youth Congress (IYC) claimed on Monday that the SPDC had violated the community content guidelines by excluding indigenous players from its operations at the EA fields.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), according to The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), established the content guidelines.

The youth group threatened to mobilize for a protest that would shut down the oil fields if the policy was not changed in order to oppose any scheme to exclude members of the host community.

The group also pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari, the Minister of Petroleum, and the management of NNPC Limited to persuade SPDC to reconsider and return the peaceful nature of the host communities.

According to NAN, SPDC uses a floating production, storage, and offloading (FSPO) vessel with a 1.4 million barrel capacity to operate the EA shallow offshore fields off the coast of Bayelsa.

The SPDC responded to the accusations by stating that, on the contrary, it was a key player in the growth of regional capacity in the oil and gas industry.

Abimbola Essien-Nelson, manager of SPDC’s media relations, said in a statement that Shell has awarded contracts totaling $1.9 billion to Nigerian businesses and collaborates with NCDMB to develop their capabilities in the oil and gas industry.
The SPDC JV, a joint venture between Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, is dedicated to the growth of businesses in the Niger Delta.

We have assisted several Niger Delta-owned businesses with capacity development by collaborating with governmental and community stakeholders.The issue at hand is a planned review of our long-standing logistics contracting procedure. The Nigerian Content Development & Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and the NNPC Upstream Investments Management Services (NUIMS) oversaw the review.

“However, it was carried out through a transparent and open bidding process, which led to the entry of several new contractors.

“Some of these new companies, as well as those who had previously worked on the contract, made up the bid winners.

“All the bid winners, which are Nigerian companies, demonstrated their commercial and technical competences, as well as compliance with Nigerian Content regulations,” according to SPDC.

The energy company vowed to keep fostering the growth of regional businesses and communities.

According to the report, contracts worth $1.9 billion were given to businesses with Nigerian registrations by the SPDC Joint Venture, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), and Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) in 2022.

“In addition, the SPDC JV, SNEPCo, and SNG contributed $34.29 million in direct social investment in 2022 and spent $5.6 million on educational programs.

“The majority of social investment went toward community, health, education, and enterprise programs.

“Local governments and contractors frequently work together to carry out these projects.

The SPDC JV and SNEPCo have also set aside $56.13 million to be paid in 2023 for a statutory contribution to Host Communities Development Trusts (HCDTs), which will benefit Nigerian communities, according to the statement.

(NAN)