UNEP Report: Shell Begins Assets Inventory In Ogoni

The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) has commenced an inventory of its assets in Ogoniland in line with the recommendations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) report.

As part of the UNEP report, SPDC JV was required to conduct a comprehensive review of its assets in Ogoniland and develop a decommissioning plan.

A statement signed by the Shell’s Corporate Media Relations Manager, Tony Okonedo, indicated that the company has held engagements and consultations with communities in Ogoni, after which, the asset inventory commenced with bush clearing in the fourth quarter of last year.

He listed the assets being identified to include flowstations, compressor and gas plants, and pipelines, adding that seven fields have so far been covered.

“I wish to make clear that the exercise is not an attempt to secretly resume oil production in Ogoniland,” Okonedo quoted SPDC Managing Director and Country Chair, Shell Nigeria, Mutiu Sunmonu, as saying.

“The intention is to determine the state of our facilities since we suspended operations in the area in 1993, and determine how best to decommission them,” the managing director noted.

“We are grateful for the co-operation of local government councils and the communities, including traditional rulers, as well as other stakeholders, and are working to complete the exercise later this year,” he added.