Bayelsa: Oil communities, firms differ on migration to PIA template

Contained spillage from OML 29 at Santa Barbara, Bayelsa State PHOTO: Jesutomi Akomolafe

Oil communities in Bayelsa have resisted moves by oil firms to suspend social obligations under the old Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) for the new template in Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the PIA directs the operating firms to set aside three per cent of their operating expenses for the development of their host communities, to be managed by Host Community Development Trusts (HCDT).

Under the GMoU, oil firms choose projects to execute and determine the budget and unilaterally award the contracts.

The PIA, on the other hand, empowers the communities to drive their development process.

The phasing out of the GMoU projects met with resistance as the communities said that the old projects must run side by side with projects to be funded from the three per cent Host Community Development Fund.

The concern for the continuation of the GMoU projects cut across oil communities in Ogbia, Yenagoa, Brass, Nembe, Ogbia, Southern Ijaw and Ekeremor Local Government Area (LGA) of Bayelsa.

Reacting to suspected moves to jettison the electricity component of the old GMoU, youths and women from Kolo Creek Cluster communities of Elebele, Imiringi, Otuasega and Oruma shut down the Otuasega manifold and the Kolo Creek Logistics base operated by Shell.

They also protested the alleged abandonment of electricity supply to the communities by the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

Mr Okala Precious, a representative of the Kolo, Creek Cluster communities, said they were angry over the failure of SPDC to restore electricity supply to the area despite several meetings.

The protest compelled the oil firm to restore electricity supply as the community occupied and disrupted operations in the facility.

NAN reports that while SPDC inaugurated eight HCDT in May 2023 and set aside over 50 million dollars to fund the trusts; the composition of the Estuary Area (EA) fields had been ridden with compatibility crisis.

The EA host communities are kicking against the composition of the EA HCDT which clustered 12 communities as incorporated by SPDC.

They said that seven of the 12 communities who claimed that foisting 12 communities with cultural differences under one HCDT was a recipe for crisis, was unacceptable to them.

The EA host communities in Ekeremor LGA, on May 18 took a protest to the EA oilfields, off the Atlantic coastline to press home their demand for a separate trust.

Mr Timothy Geregere, a representative of the seven host communities, said that the meeting between SPDC officials and the communities to resolve the face-off on May 30 was futile.

He said that in spite of the provocative stance of the SPDC officials at the meeting, the seven communities have maintained a peaceful occupation of the EA field.

He said that the host communities would only resort to shutting down the facility as a last resort if ongoing mediation by the Bayelsa government fails.

Reacting to concerns of discarding the GMoU projects, Mr Michael Adande, Spokesman for SPDC, said that the company would continue with the approved projects under the old GMoU template.

He said that the HCDTs would inherit the GMoU projects and funds already accrued to the erstwhile GMoU.

“Some of the GMoUs still have funds in their accounts which will be inherited by the HCDTs which will continue implementation of approved projects.

“SPDC will continue to support approved GMoU projects as the HCDTs will drive the development process in our host communities going forward,” Adande said.