Oil & Energy
Total And Sustainable Dev Practice
Corporate relations responsibility is a core value to any successful business venture and to Total Exploration and Production Nigeria (TEPN) Limited, it is not just a responsibility but a commitment. This commitment has propelled the company’s core value in corporate social responsibility which basically include respect for the environment and the enhancement of social and economic well being of communities hosting its facilities. The company has made concerted efforts in putting in place structures and programmes for the improvement of the well being of its host communities.
Little wonder Total has been adjudged the best in the oil and gas industry in terms of its corporate social responsibility delivery to host communities which is hinged on the concept of sustainable development.
The concept stresses that when indigenous communities run majority of their programmes through institutions and enterprise set up by themselves and for themselves with Total as partners, high sustainability is maintained.
This, no doubt, has greatly paid off for the company as amidst the restiveness that other oil companies face, for Total upsstreams companies in the country, the relationships with all the communities that host its facilities have been robust and cardinal. They have operated in relative peace with all their neighbours and stakeholders. The acceptance by host communities and the perception of the Company as a role model in Corporate Social responsibility delivery by the larger society have placed the company in a good stead in the oil and gas industry. Only recently, the company’s sustainable development practice was stretched to those at the other end of society as in mates of charity homes in Port Harcourt were showered with gifts worth millions of Naira.
Among the homes visited were Home for the Elderly, Harbour Road, Motherless Babies Home Borokiri, Global Foundation for Orphaned Chilren, Ikwerre Road by Rumuokwuta and David Bassey Ikpama Home Eagle Island.
Items donated to these homes include food stuff, baby cots/Matrrases, branded wooden beds, baby changing station, provisions among others.
Presenting the items, the company’s Public Relation Manager, Port Harcourt district, Mr. Ikwazom Norbert said, “it is the tradition of Total to share the concerns of its host communities and especially during festive periods, we let every facet of society have a feel of Total’s presence”.
Responding to the gesture, Cliff Jarrell, the father of the family of almost 40 orphaned children (Global foundation for Orphaned Children) said “it is a huge help, you have taken a huge burden from me. I thank Total for being agent of mercy. An agent of change; an angel to the home. You will surely be rewarded”.
In the same vein, Mrs Barile Austine Nwakoh, Matron of the Port Harcourt Children’s Home said Nigeria would have being a much better place if we have more of the likes of Total, urging others to emulate the company.
Indeed, Nigeria, specifically the Niger Delta would have been a better place if we had many more companies like Total in existence companies that would put the people at the centre of policy formulation and implementation in the delivery of social programmes in their domains.
The practice, rather, industry-wide has been the usual appeasement of community leaders through payments and assistance which ended up not meeting the real needs of the people.
And sometimes, the appeasement ends up in the pockets of some priviledged few.
At other times when these companies go beyond payments and assiatnace to the provision of basic infrastructure which did not, emanate from community consultation, it could not be sustained as the stakeholders or communities were disconnected from such programmes.
No wonder most projects carried out by companies that took this approach end up either being abandoned or decadent due to lack of maintenance. The people become discontented and naturally results to resentment and aggression.
Total had a paradigm shift in its corporate social responsibility delivery to host communities since 2007 which has set it apart in the oil and gas industry. Total’s approach has not only been adjudged the industry bench mark but has made the company to have commensurate value for projects and programmes initiated; and the host communities derive full satisfaction.
Hear what Mr. Edem Etim Ebong, Chairman, Ibeno Youth Development Council said in an interview:
“Total has been one of the best oil and gas company Ibeno has associated with. It is the first oil company so far that will sit down with the community and discuss their developmental needs so as to have a framework of agreement on what is expected from each party … the relationship has taken off well and it is cordial”.
In demonstration of the company’s commitment to the educational development of its host communities, the company in collaboration with the consultancy division of Benviatto Schools Limited organised the 2011 Career Guidance and Counselling Programme for secondary Schools in its, OML 58 areas. The 2011 edition was the third in the series which had about 163 students drawn from eleven secondary schools in OML 58, NYSC members, teachers and community representatives’.
The company’s General Manager, Sustainable Development and Public Affairs, Mr. Vincent Nnadi represented by Anthony, Umesi, head, Educational Development said the programme is one of the compnay’s valued programme aimed at exposing students to various career.
By the programme students from the communities are exposed early in their lives to the variety of courses and professions available. They are placed in a vantage position to choose courses that they have aptitude in as it will be easier to excel and add more value to society in such chosen fields.
Also a limelight was thrown on the importance the company’s attaches to the health of indigenes of its host communities during the maiden edition of the training workshop for Traditional Birth Attendants in Akabuka. It was organised in collaboration with Partners on Health Resources and over 62 participants from OML 58 communities. The aim is to build the capacity of participants on effective maternity services and health care delivery.
Total is one company that is in the forefront in the implementation of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry local Content Development (NOGIC) Act. An Act that is geared towards the establishment of facilities in the country and ensuring they are patronised in a bid to bring Nigerians jobs back home for instance the Akpo Oil and Gas Deeproater Development Project (OML130) which delivered its first oil in 2009 had 7.85 million man-hours in local employment, 25,900 tonnes of steel in local fabrication and an overall Nigeria content value of 80 per cent.
The first Nigeria’s privately owned vessel, MV OSAYAME came into being through the support of Total.
One can therefore make bold to say that Total is one company that is committed to extending socio-economic benefits to all the areas where it operates.
Borrowing the words of Sir Winston Leonard Spencer – Churchill, “Courage is what it takes to stand up to speak and courage is what it takes to sit down and listen” Relationship can be marred or sustained through the courage to give and receive. And in every relationship there is time to give and a time to receive; a time to understand and to be understood. Therefore at every point, both ends have something to do which is usually a onerous task that takes courage to accomplish.
Total has performed its part of the pact creditably by paying the price to keep the relationship with host communities thereby getting a great value for both parties involved.
Price going to prove Warren Edward Buffet’s words that, “Price is what you pay. Value is what you get”.
Vivian-Peace Nwinaene
Last week, OPEC+ announced it will once again accelerate the pace of unwinding of production cuts, with output targets for June increasing by 411,000 barrels per day, equivalent to three monthly increments.
This follows a similar move in April, with the organization appearing willing to stay the course amid low oil prices and fears of weakening demand.
We reported that global crude inventories remain low enough, thus giving OPEC+ a window to scale back its voluntary cuts until the market surplus finally arrives.
Saudi Arabia appears intent on “punishing” OPEC+ rascals such as Kazakhstan and Iran for repeatedly violating their quotas.
Commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have reported that the latest OPEC survey of secondary sources reveals that Kazakhstan’s crude oil output clocked in at 1.852 mb/d in March, 384 kb/d above its OPEC+ quota.
Further, the country also failed to keep its promise to cut 38 kb/d in compensation for overproduction in March, bringing its total overproduction to 422 kb/d.
The same scenario is expected to unfold in the coming months. Kazakhstan produced 240 kb/d more y/y in March, a sharp contrast from the other eight OPEC+ members who produced a combined 612 kb/d less.
And now, the oil futures markets are sending a dire warning that oil bulls could find themselves in trouble quite soon due to a combination of the OPEC+ output hike and Trump’s tariffs.
Oil futures curve has formed a rare “smile” shape, a structure Morgan Stanley says was last seen briefly in February 2020 just before the infamous oil price crash.
On Wednesday, Brent futures’ July contract was trading at a premium of 74 cents to the October contract, a market structure known as backwardation, foreshadowing immediate tight supply.
However, prompt prices from November have formed a contango, with forward prices flipping to a discount, indicating oversupply as traders predict Trump’s tariffs will eventually weaken oil demand. Having backwardation and contango together leads to the rare “smile” shaped curve.
According to the latest available data by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global oil inventories stood at 7.647 billion barrels in February, down from 7.709 billion barrels for last year’s corresponding period and close to the bottom of their historical five-year range.
Meanwhile, refiners’ appetite for crude is climbing ahead of the peak driving season in July and August, “Refinery maintenance in the Atlantic basin will start to taper off, increasing oil demand (for refining)… Summer driving should provide some support,” BNP Paribas analyst told Reuters.
Global oil demand is expected to rise by 1.3 million barrels per day in the third quarter of the current year, up from an average of 104.51 million bpd in the second quarter, the IEA has predicted.
The 1 million bpd output increases announced by OPEC+ so far, coupled with another 400 kb/d increase in July, almost matches the predicted demand increase, implying oil markets will not face a surplus till late in the year.
Meanwhile, oil prices jumped in Thursday’s session after the Trump administration announced it has struck a trade deal with the UK. Brent crude for July delivery was up 2.7% to trade at $62.75/bbl at 12.50 pm ET while WTI crude contract for June delivery added 3.0% to change hands at $59.86 per barrel. However, terms of the deal appear to fall well short of the “comprehensive” package Trump earlier touted.
According to Trump, UK Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, will further reduce non-tariff barriers and fast-track U.S. goods into his country.
Meanwhile, another solid week of jobless claims underscored the Federal Reserve’s ongoing unwillingness to cut rates. U.S. jobless claims fell 13,000 to 228,000 for the period ending on May 3.
Continued claims, however, clocked in at just over 1.9 million, near the highest levels since 2021, suggesting workers are still finding it difficult to secure new jobs as the economy stalls.
That said, commodity analysts at Standard Chartered have predicted that path of least resistance for oil prices is lower in the coming months, with oil prices to remain low before beginning a gradual recovery later in the year as U.S. oil output declines.
StanChart, however, says there’s some technical support in the short-term, with fundamentals remaining fairly positive. Recently, StanChart cut its 2025 oil price forecast to $61/bbl from $76 and also lowered its 2026 forecast to USD 78/bbl from $85 citing Trump’s tariffs.
By: Alex Kimani
In a move to reinforce confidence in the nation’s upstream potential, ExxonMobil has affirmed its long-term commitment to the oil and gas sector with a planned $1.5 billion investment in deepwater exploration and development projects.
Country Managing Director, Shane Harris, disclosed this during a courtesy visit to the Commission Chief Executive (CCE) of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Engr. Gbenga Komolafe.
A statement on the NUPRC’s website revealed that the investment, planned to be executed between Q2 2025 and 2027, would focus primarily on revitalizing production at the Usan deepwater oil field.
The oil major hinted that a Final Investment Decision (FID) is expected in late Q3 2025, pending the final approval of the Field Development Plan (FDP), along with internal and partner funding approvals.
In addition to the Usan field, ExxonMobil also revealed intentions to accelerate development activities in other key deepwater assets, including the Owowo and Erha fields.
These developments are part of a broader strategy to strengthen its operational footprint in Nigeria and support the country’s drive for increased production.
Speaking during the visit, Harris stated that the planned capital expenditure underscored ExxonMobil’s belief in the long-term viability of Nigeria’s upstream sector and its strategic importance in the global energy landscape.
Harris, who expressed ExxonMobil’s support for NUPRC’s “Project 1 Million Barrels” initiative, which aims to boost Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity to 2.4 million barrels per day in the medium term, stressed the need for strategic collaboration between operators and regulators in achieving this ambitious target.
He further pledged to use the platform to foster stronger collaboration between industry players and the NUPRC with a focus on addressing regulatory challenges and unlocking further investment opportunities in the sector.
Responding to the development, the NUPRC boss, Engr. Gbenga Komolafe, welcomed the announcement, describing ExxonMobil’s renewed commitment as timely and crucial for Nigeria’s upstream growth.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has called on the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to boost oil production significantly by the end of 2025.
Lokpobiri made the call during an interview with Energy Editors at the Africa Energy Forum (AEF) in Houston, Texas, United States.
Emphasizing the need for accelerated growth in the nation’s oil output, Lokpobiri said he had increased oil production target from President Bola Tinubu’s initial goal of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) to 2.5 million bpd.
According to a statement, “The Federal Government on Wednesday directed the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPCL) to increase oil production beyond current levels by the end of the year.
“Although President Bola Tinubu had initially tasked the NNPCL with ramping up production to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) but later increased the target to 2.5 million bpd”.
He insisted that the new target is achievable, noting that the nation had previously reached that level during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite low investment.
Lokpobiri explained that the “Drill or Drop” policy under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) required new drilling to replenish reserves for every oil extraction, using underground surveys.
He urged global investors to take advantage of Nigeria’s improved regulatory environment and competitive fiscal terms, describing the country as a top destination for energy investment.
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