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Eurafric Debunks DPR’s Claims On Okrika Marginal Field
Eurafric Energy Limited has debunked claims by the Federal Government on the revocation of the Dawes Island marginal field and the decision to re-award it to Petralon 54.
The marginal field is owned by a Joint Venture, involving Eurafric, Tako and Petralon.
Addressing the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions, Director, Department of Petroleum Resources, Sarki Auwulu, had presented some reasons, including the alleged inactiveness for 17 years.
However, in his submission, Managing Director, Eurafic Energy, Onoriode Odjegba, faulted DPR’s claim that the field was inactive for 17 years.
Odjegba, who attributed it to the restiveness in the Niger Delta, which denied the company access to the field, stated; “Two Force Majeure, FM events of about 10 years cumulatively, severely affected field development activities from license award to date.
“The first FM event which spanned seven years from 2004 to sometime in 2011, was occasioned by militancy within the field area.
“At the height of this, Shell Petroleum Development Company also declared FM; evacuating 235 non-essential personnel from two oil fields, cutting oil production by 30,000 barrels per day.
“Similarly, our technical partner, PA Resources of Sweden declared FM as well and exited the country. This situation persisted until the government of President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua commenced the Presidential Amnesty Programme which restored normalcy to the region.
“This fact was corroborated by the DPR in the Dawes Island Marginal field extension letter of March 28, 2011, when it stated, ‘Our records show that you have carried out some activities but not attained production.
“This is in recognition of the fact that there was a spate of restiveness that pervaded the Niger Delta region in the past few years which almost paralysed exploration and production activities in the region.
“The second FM, which occurred between January and June, 2018, involved the seizure of our shuttle vessel, the MT Breakthrough by the Nigerian Navy and subsequently, EFCC.
“This hampered our ability to evacuate produced crude oil and truncated our first extended well test. The ripple effect, however, prevailed till mid-2019 when the DPR gave approval for re-execution of the extended well test.”
He also said, “Although the DPR collectively held Eurafric, Tako and Petralon liable for delay in developing the field, Eurafric wondered why the agency said Petralon has the capacity to make the field viable.”
Expressing its commitment to the development of the field, the managing director, who noted that substantial investments were made over the years, said, “In appreciation of such expenses, his predecessor (Auwulu), made an exemption for fields on stream or showing significant progress towards production during the licence extension of 2015.
“At that time, the DPR utilised a Quantitative Evaluation Criteria and Scoring Chart for assessing performance wherein Fields which scored 70 points and above-termed Fields on stream or showing significant progress towards production, was given a clean bill and granted licence approval.”
He also, said, “Following the restoration of calm in the Niger Delta, Eurafric, together with its partners (Petralon and Tako E&P) successfully executed subsurface studies, mobilised to site and drilled a well.
“As a key part of the process leading to a submission of a Field Development Plan, FDP, Eurafric and partners applied for and received from DPR a permit to execute an Extended Well Test, EWT. Only after the EWT can an FDP be submitted. The licences were revoked just as the EWT was concluded.”
Eurafric described the claim that it had no financial or material investment in the asset as unfounded and grossly misleading, noting that it has funded 75 per cent of all expenses on the field to date.
However, the lawmakers reversed the award of the field to Petralon 54 Limited, stressing that DPR’s action was not fair to all parties.
The committee explained that since the DPR had admitted the JV relationship between Eurafric, Tako, and Petralon, the three parties should benefit from any re-award of the licence.
DPR had revoked 11 marginal field operators’ licences for non-performance, including Dawes Island marginal field in Oil Prospecting Lease, OPL 2006, Rivers State, in April, 2020.
Reacting, Eurafric had filed a motion on notice challenging the revocation and applied for an interim injunction restraining the action.
In its June, 2020 ruling, the Federal High Court in Lagos restrained the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources from accepting bids for eight marginal oilfields, including that of Dawes Island pending determination of the case.
But DPR had awarded the field to Petralon 54 Limited and its partners during the recent marginal oilfield bid round, a development which made Eurafric drag it before the House of Representatives Committee.
It would be recalled that the DPR had in April, 2021, also revoked four Oil Mining Licences (OML), belonging to Addax Petroleum due mainly to the alleged non-development, before President Muhammadu Buhari ordered it to return them to Addax.
Vice President Kashim Shettima has arrived in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, for an official State visit at the invitation of the Prime Minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed.
Upon arrival yesterday, Shettima was received at the airport by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Dr. Gedion Timothewos, and other members of the Ethiopian and Nigerian diplomatic corps.
Senior Special Assistant to the Vice President on Media and Communication, Stanley Nkwocha, revealed this in a statement he signed yesterday, titled: “VP Shettima arrives in Ethiopia for official state visit.”
During the visit, Vice President Shettima will participate in the official launch of Ethiopia’s Green Legacy Programme, a flagship environmental initiative.
The programme designed to combat deforestation, enhance biodiversity, and mitigate the adverse effects of climate change targets the planting of 20 billion tree seedlings over a four-year period.
In line with strengthening bilateral ties in agriculture and industrial development, the Vice President will also embark on a strategic tour of key industrial zones and integrated agricultural facilities across selected regions of Ethiopia.
News
RSG Tasks Farmers On N4bn Agric Loan ….As RAAMP Takes Sensitization Campaign To Four LGs In Rivers
The Rivers State Government has called on the people of the state especially farmers to access the ?4billion agricultural loans made available by the State and domiciled in the Bank of Industry.
This is as the State Project Implementation Unit (SPIU) of Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project (RAAMP), a World Bank project, took its sensitization campaign to Opobo/Nkoro, Andoni, Port Harcourt City and Obio/Akpor local government areas.
The campaign was aimed at enlightening community dwellers and other stakeholders in the various local government areas on the RAAMP project implementation and programme activities.
The Permanent Secretary, Rivers State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr Maurice Ogolo, said this at Opobo town, Ngo, Port Harcourt City and Rumuodumanya, headquarters of the four local government areas respectively, during the sensitization campaign.
Ogolo said apart from the ?4billion, the government has also made available fertilizers and other farm inputs to farmers in the various local government areas.
The Permanent Secretary who is the Chairman, State Steering Committee for the project, said RAAMP will construct roads that will connect farms to markets to enable farmers and fishermen sell their farms produce and fishes.
He also said rural roads would be constructed to farms and fishing settlements, and warned against any act that will lead to the cancellation of the projects in the four local government areas.
According to him, the World Bank and Federal Government which are the financiers of the programme will not condone such acts like kidnapping, marching ground and other acts inimical to the successful implementation of the projects in their respective areas.
At PHALGA, Ogolo asserted that the city will benefit in the areas of roads and bridge construction.
He noted that RAAMP was thriving in both the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja; Lagos and other states in the country, stressing that the project should also be given the seriousness it deserves in Rivers State.
Speaking at Opobo town, the headquarters of Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Area, the project coordinator, RAAMP, Mr.Joshua Kpakol, said the programme would reduce poverty in the state.
According to him, both fishermen and farmers will maximally benefit from the programme.
At Ngo which is the headquarters of Andoni Local Government Area, Kpakol said roads will be constructed to all remote fishing settlements.
He said Rivers State is lucky to be among the states implementing the project, and stressed the need for the people to embrace it.
Meanwhile, Kpakol said at PHALGA that RAAMP is a project that will transform the lives of farmers, traders and other stakeholders in the area.
He urged the stakeholders to spread the information to their various communities.
However, some of the stakeholders at Opobo town complained about the destruction of their farms by bulls allegedly owed by traditional rulers in the area, as well as incessant stealing of their canoes at waterfronts.
At Ngo, Archbishop Elkanah Hanson, founder of El-Shaddai Church, commended the World Bank and the Federal Government for bringing the projects to Andoni.
He stressed the need for the construction of roads to fishing settlements in the area.
Also, a former Commissioner for Agriculture in the state and Okan Ama of Ekede, HRH King Gad Harry, noted that storage facilities have become necessary for a successful agricultural programme.
Harry also stressed the need for the programme to be made sustainable.
In their separate speeches, the administrators of Andoni and Opobo/Nkoro Local Government Areas, pledged their readiness to support the programme.
At Port Harcourt City, the Administrator, Dr Arthur Kalagbor, represented by the Head of Local Government Administration, Port Harcourt City, Mr Clifford Paul, said the city would support the implementation of the programme in the area.
Also, the administrator of Obio/Akpor Local Government Area, Dr Clifford Ndu Walter, represented by Mr Michael Elenwo, pledged to support the programme in his local government area.
Among dignitaries at the Obio/Akpor stakeholders engagement is the chairman, Rivers State Traditional Rulers Council and paramount ruler of Apara Kingdom, HRM Eze Chike Wodo, amongst others.
John Bibor
President Bola Tinubu has ordered the commencement of personnel audit and skill gap analysis across all cadres of federal civil servants.
The president gave this directive in Abuja, yesterday, while speaking at the International Civil Service Conference, reaffirming his resolve to achieve efficiency and professional service delivery in the civil service.
“I have authorized the comprehensive personnel audit and skill gap analysis across the federal civil service to deepen capacity. I urge all responsible stakeholders to prioritize timely completion of this critical exercise, to begin implementing targeted reforms, to realize the full benefit of a more agile, competent and responsive civil service,” the president announced.
Tinubu further directed all Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), to prioritise data integrity and sovereignty in national interest.
He called for the capture, protection and strategic publication of public sector data in line with the Nigeria Data Protection Act of 2023.
“We must let our data speak for us. We must publish verified data assets within Nigeria and share them internationally recognized as fruitful. This will allow global benchmarking organisation to track our progress in real time and help us strengthen our position on the world stage. This will preserve privacy and uphold data sovereignty,” Tinubu added.
President Tinubu hailed the federal civil service as the “engine” driving his Renewed Hope Agenda, and the vehicle for delivering sustainable national development.
He submitted that the roles of civil servants remain indispensable in modern governance, declaring that in the face of a fast-evolving digital and economic landscape, the civil service must remain agile, future-ready, and results-driven.
“This maiden conference is a bold step toward redefining governance in an era of rapid transformation. An innovative Civil Service ensures we meet today’s needs and overcome tomorrow’s challenges.
“It captures our collective ambition to reimagine and reposition the civil service. In today’s rapid, evolving world of technology, innovation remains critical in ensuring that the civil service is dynamic, digital” the President said.
Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Didi Walson-Jack in her welcome address told the President that his presence and strong words of commendation at the conference has renewed the morale and mandate of public servants across the country.
Walson-Jack described Tinubu as the backbone of driving transformation in the Nigerian civil service, and noted that the takeaways from past study tours undertaken to understudy the civil service in Singapore, the UK and US under her leadership, is already yielding multiplier effects.
Walson-Jack assured Tinubu that her office, in collaboration with reform-minded stakeholders, will not relent in accelerating the implementation of the Federal Civil Service Strategy and Implementation Plan, FCSSIP 25.
She affirmed that digitalisation, performance management, and continuous learning remain key pillars in strengthening accountability, transparency, and service delivery across MDAs.
Walson-Jack reaffirmed that the civil service is determined to exceed expectations by embedding a culture of innovation, ethical leadership, and citizen-centred governance in the heart of public administration.