Eunice Imo Kalu
Lagos — Fourteen host communities in Delta State have asked the Federal government to revoke the licenses of the two companies operating the Oil Mining Lease, OML, 42 over alleged refusal to implement the Petroleum Industry Act, PIA, and other issues as it relates to Local Content.
The companies are the Nigeria Exploration Petroleum Limited, NEPL, and Neconde Energy Limited.
The aggrieved host communities made the demand in an open letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The letter was dated Monday December 18 and signed by the Chairman, OML 42/Kantu Community, Mr. Windfree Atemubaghan and officers of the OML 42 Communities’ Forum, including the Public Relations Officer, Oyimi Samson; Secretary-General, Mr. Francis Ayeku; and Treasurer, Amb. Billy Ekele.
The letter read: “We wish to further state that despite the huge production to the national treasury of Nigeria, the JV (joint venture) operators of OML 42, since the divestment of this asset to the JV partners (formerly NPDC) and now NEPL/Neconde Energy Limited, has failed the host communities woefully in the following areas of oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta region, as it affects the OMI 42 host communities.
“The operators as Nigerian companies by law, is expected to uphold the enforcement and implementation of the laws of local content act, but the operators are not in any form encouraging indigenous vendors to build capacity, rather secretly giving out contracts meant for community vendors to their friends and associates outside the host communities.
“It is the constitutional responsibility of operators of oil and gas companies in anywhere in the world to meet up to the social cooperate responsibilities to their host communities. But these operators have failed in the aforementioned responsibilities by not developing the human capital and infrastructural needs of our host communities.
“The operators of the OML 42 NEPL and Neconde Energy Ltd JV) are using barging to load crude oil in some of the six flow stations in OML 42 and supply to mother vessels in the Atlantic Ocean, thereby causing environmental pollution on the soul of the host communities, this has further damaged the entire eco system of the marine economy, making it difficult for the inhabitants to live with their God-given natural occupation.
“The PIA provides for development of host communities in human and capital infrastructures, due to the oil and gas exploration and exploitation activities, which damage the environment where oil and gas is being exploited.”
