A destroyed refinery By Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited( NNPCL) says it has destroyed 134 illegal refineries in the last few weeks. Also, the company said 63 illegal pipeline connections were uncovered during the the weeks . The corporation, In a visual report, stated that at about 2 am on Sunday, a joint team of security agents discovered a large wooden boat illicitly loading stolen crude oil from Barge AGS01 within the OML 18 operating area, noted intelligence report a large wooden wooden boat was caught receiving crude oil from the barge. According to the state-owned oil firm, while the barge was towed away with a tugboat in custody, five speedboats used in towing the large wooden boat to the illegal loading site were also detained and the particulars of the tugboats and barge used for the operation were reportedly seized for further investigation. It further said that two large boats, which involve
By Akinola Ajibade
Nigeria's crude oi production dipped further by 22,000 barrels, as Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria began an industrial action.
Addax has four Oil Mining Licenses, OML 123, 124, 126 and 137, the assets, which its operates on Production Sharing Contract ( PSC) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation ( NNPC) before its transformation to a Limited Liability Company.
Owned by China's Sinopec Group, the company recently embarked on strike over anti-labor practices, in order to press home its demand for increase wages for a total of 324 employees under its control. The firm's workforce include 141 permanent staff and 183 contracts staff.
The striking workers, who are members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), alledged that the management of Addax have to engage them on labour related issues after the announcement of the revocation of its licenses by the Federal Government.
The workers threatened to shut all the company’s operations including oil wells, valves crude lifting, and export terminals operating by Addax if the company refuse to engage them, saying that all attempts to get the Management to the negotiation table failed as it ignored them.
According to report, it was agreed that the financial exit settlement will be executed at the expiration of Addax Petroleum Nigeria’s PSC agreement for OML 123 and 124 by July 1, 2022.
“Addax Management has so far rebuffed our call for the execution of the financial exit settlement and other employees ‘related issues.
Senior Assistant General Secretary, Lagos Zone PENGASSAN, Comrade Babatunde Oke confirmed that the strike was embarked upon by our members due to the Management’s refusal to engage our Association on the financial settlement earlier agreed on.
Some of the workers explained that they have waited patiently for the Management “trying to understand its plights but it is like they are insensitive to our problems. Many letters have been written asking for a meeting but the Management refused to meet them.”
The striking workers claimed that the Federal Government has done everything possible through the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) to ensure issues are settled amicably but Addax Management is frustrating every move by NAPIMS and other stakeholders to resolve the issue.
Addax has been enmeshed in revocation of licenses by the then Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) in March 2021.
The regulatory agency claimed that the licenses were revoked due to the refusal of Addax Petroleum to fully develop the affected assets, alleging that this action has robbed the government of revenue that could have been generated from assets.
DPR, now Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, claimed that the average reserve profile of the assets showed that oil reserves have remained essentially flat, as Addax never made efforts to grow the reserves, adding that crude oil in all three producing assets had been declining over the years due to inadequate investment by the company.
It stated that the entire OML 137 holds about five trillion cubic metres in two key reserves, but the company failed to develop this asset in line with the government’s gas revolution policy, describing this as “economic sabotage.”
Speaking on the issue, the current Chief Executive Officer of NUPRC, Engineer Gbenga Komolafe, said that Addax refused to renew its licenses and therefore those licenses stand revoked.
Sources close to the workers, said that sequel to the notification by the APN Management informing its employees on the withdrawal of operating licenses by the NNPC in a town hall meeting, both parties met and reach a financial term of exit settlement for all the workers.
It was also agreed that the financial exit settlement will be executed at the expiration of Addax Petroleum Nigeria’s PSC agreement for OML 123 and 124 by July 1, 2022.
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