By Disun Amosun
The continued Investigative Hearing on oil theft and pipeline vandalism and its effects on the environment in oil producing states Tuesday threw up new vistas, as the two companies that appeared before the Reps Environment Committee took opposite stands as to their motives and how to ameliorate the hazard and economic sabotage.
The Hearing, which centered on the deluge of petitions by the host communities where Aieto and Nig. Agip (now Oando) Oil coys on their operations have resulted negatively on the environment.
Both companies agreed on the need for the House of Representatives to through legislative intervention provide an environment that will deter such acts inimical to the economic wellbeing and eco system of the nation.
Oando speaking through its representative attributed a high percentage of oil spillage and it’s resultant effects on the host community to the increasing appetite of the host communities to pilfer the crude from the pipelines through illegal connections and damage to oil installations.
“Data by Oando on Burutu in Southern Ijaw revealed that virtually over 90% of oil theft and pipeline vandalism were perpetrated by members of the host communities whose increasing penance and capacity to steal from the common well knows no bounds.
“Host communities are individually and collectively sabotaging efforts of oil companies to minimize incidences of spillages in their area. Our operations covering largely onshore and marshy areas are easily accessible to vandals whose activities result in spillage and pollution of the environment as oil spills are swiftly spread by the strong underwater Current”, he said.
The committee members, comprising of many from the Niger Delta Region of the country, led by its chairman Rep. Julius Pondi who incidentally represents Ijaw south, would have none of such sweeping accusation of the host communities, frowning particularly at the use of the words ‘with increasing appetite and capacities for theft’, and called for the immediate withdrawal of such un legislative language, and was promptly withdrawn by Oando.
Aieto on its part noted the importance of a cordial working relationship between oil companies and their host communities, but noted that when vested interests start to creep in, then interest starts to clash
The company attributed such clashes of interests for reasons why production fell drastically to 700,000 bpd in 2018 before it started picking up through combined security activities by stakeholders Committee chairman Rep Julius Pondi
had earlier reiterated its resolve to get to the root cause of Environmental degradation and pollution caused by oil companies by their operations, towards this end the committee had arranged an oversight visit to the operations sites of Oando in Delta State to ascertain claims of having cleaned up the effects of the recent May 2024 oil spillage in some of their fields.
