Oil & Energy
Group Sues For Royalties On Oil Exploitation, Gas Facilities In Ogoniland
The President of Gokana,Tai, Eleme and Khana landlords Association (GOTEKA), an umbrella body of Landlords and Host communities of oil facilities in the four local government areas of Ogoniland, Engr.Benjamin Harry, has advised prospective oil firms in Ogoni to “guide against colluding with local communities upon commencing their operations.
Harry, who gave the advice while playing host to the visit by the representatives of the National Association of Ogoni Media workers(NAOMEW) in Akpajo, Eleme local government area of Rivers state recently, said this was the only way to create a conducive and enabling environment for their business to strive.
He appealed to the President, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, through the office of the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, that his organization is the only legitimate body to interface with, as far as oil resumption and payment of backlog of royalties accruable to the Landlords and Host communities are concerned.
Harry who noted that Goteka is not against oil resumption in Ogoni land, stressed that the body remains the genuine body to be contacted in the matter of oil resumption as they bear the negative impacts of oil exploration saying “GOTEKA remains the only genuine Landlord Association in possession of written Consent/Authorization and Power of Attorney.”
He insisted that there were backlogs of Royalties acruable to the Landlords and Host communities which had not been paid them by the International Oil Companies (IOCs) demanding that such payment be made to them as one of the conditions for oil resumption in the area.
In his words, “The Petroleum Industry Bill (PIA) recognized and empowers Host communities and Landlords to benefit from their God’s given natural resources endowed in their land.”
Earlier in his remarks, the President, National Association of Ogoni Media Workers (NAOMEW), Martins Giadom, advised members of GOTEKA to work in partnership rather than separately and at cross-purpose.
Also speaking, the representative of Mogho oil bearing community and
member of GOTEKA, Chief Paul Eeyie, expressed delight over the visit, soliciting for a lasting partnership with the media so as to publicize the activities of
GOTEKA.
By Nkpemenyie Mcdominic, Lagos
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Oil & Energy
Dangote/NUPENG Feud: Tanker Drivers Disown ‘PTD Elders Forum ‘, Seek Impostors’ Prosecution
Petroleum Tanker Drivers(PTD), an affiliate union of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers(NUPENG), has disowned a group parading itself as the ‘PTD Elders Forum’ amid a feud with Dangote Refinery.
The drivers from across the Kaduna, Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Warri zones, during a Press Briefing, at the Weekend, described members of the said forum as fake impostors with no recognition under PTD or NUPENG constitutions and hired to wreck havoc on the union.
They appealed to security agencies to investigate and prosecute those behind the forum.
Speaking on behalf of Kaduna Zone, Bashir Izalan, said the group was unknown to PTD, stressing that Egbon’s leadership had been transparent and responsive to members’ welfare.
He noted that drivers benefited from union-backed insurance, medical support and intervention in workplace disputes.
Representative of the Lagos Zone, Itanola Abiodun, maintained that the so-called elders were not members of the union, pointing out that every legitimate PTD member belonged to a unit and zone.
He urged the group to identify their units if they were genuine members, insisting that they were “hired hands” out to destabilise the union.
In his words, “Everybody who belongs to a union has a unit and zone where that unit is located. Then, they have the PTD branch. Those units where they claimed they come from do not exist. We in those zones do not know them.
“Their names are not known to us at all. They should mention the units they belong to for discerning minds to vouch for their authenticity.
“They cannot even say the units or zone they belong to. They are not speaking for us. They are impostors, hired to wreak havoc in our union”.
From Port Harcourt Zone, Chukwudi Okafor, dismissed allegations that PTD leadership mismanaged check-off dues and loading fees, clarifying that the funds, contributed by truck owners, are used for drivers’ health insurance and welfare.
He said members were satisfied with how resources are managed, urging the government to support PTD.
Dennis Akore of Warri Zone alleged that the controversy was linked to former PTD members who lost out in the July, last year’s delegates’ conference, claiming that the group was attempting to regain control of the union after being voted out by drivers.
Earlier, NUPENG President, Comrade Williams Akporeha, and General Secretary, Comrade Afolabi Olawale, had also warned against the activities of the “PTD Elders Forum,” describing them as infiltrators working to sow disaffection within the union.
All is now set for the unveiling of the indigenous $400m Otakikpo Onshore Crude Oil Terminal in Rivers State, billed for Wednesday, October 8, and to be performed by the President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The facility, developed by Green Energy International Limited (GEIL), operators of the Otakikpo field in OML 11, located in Ikuru-Town, in Andoni Local Government Area of Rivers State, is the first wholly indigenous onshore terminal built in Nigeria as the last of such facility, the Forcados Terminal, was commissioned back in 1971.
The unveiling would attract top government officials, including the Minister of State for Petroleum (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and other major stakeholders across the nation’s oil and gas sector.
With the much struggling with declining production, pipeline vandalism, oil theft, and rising operational costs in recent years, the Otakikpo Onshore Terminal further underscores the Federal Government’s renewed efforts to restore investor confidence in the nation’s oil sector.
The Executive Director, Legal and Corporate Services, GEIL, Olusegun Ilori, in a Statement, last Thursday, said the terminal aligns with President Tinubu’s drive to boost crude oil production and address Nigeria’s long-standing evacuation challenges.
“This project is a strategic infrastructure that supports the administration’s commitment to raising output while reducing costs,” Ilori said.
On his part, the Chairman and Chief Executive, GEIL, Professor Anthony Adegbulugbe, described the terminal as a “game-changing national infrastructure.”
Adegbulugbe said “What we have achieved here is not just a storage solution, but a pathway for about 40 stranded oil fields to finally contribute to the economy”.
It would be noted that industry operators, over the years, have consistently highlighted evacuation bottlenecks as a major impediment to meeting the Federal Government’s production target of 3m bpd.
The Otakikpo terminal is expected to serve as a lifeline to more than 40 stranded oil fields by providing a reliable evacuation outlet, potentially unlocking millions of barrels of crude previously trapped underground.
With an initial storage capacity of 750,000 barrels, expandable to three million barrels, and a loading capacity of 360,000 barrels per day, the facility is also projected to reduce production costs for indigenous producers significantly.
By: Lady Godknows Ogbulu
Nigeria is pumping more crude and drilling harder than it has in years, thanks to reforms under President Bola Tinubu that are finally coaxing cash back into the upstream. Daily output has climbed to between 1.7 and 1.83 million barrels, while active rigs surged from 31 in January to 50 by mid-year, Minister of State for Petroleum Heineken Lokpobiri told delegates at Africa Energy Week.
The turnaround is pinned on the “Project One Million Barrels” initiative and the long-delayed Petroleum Industry Act, which the government insists has created a predictable playing field for investors. Lokpobiri pointed to over $5.5 billion in fresh investment decisions tied to asset divestments by IOCs—moves he said are adding some 200,000 bpd to national production. Nigeria, he declared, is “open for business.”
But problems persist downstream. The country’s crown jewel refinery—Aliko Dangote’s $20 billion, 650,000-bpd plant in Lagos—is mired in strikes, sabotage claims, and financial headaches. Earlier this week, Nigeria’s top oil union launched a nationwide walkout after 800 refinery workers were sacked for alleged “acts of sabotage.”
Dangote insists he’s rooting out bad actors; unions say he’s firing organizers. The strike has already shuttered offices at NNPC and key regulators, raising fears it could spill over into production if not resolved.
Even before the labor brawl, the refinery was under pressure. Dangote has admitted to reselling crude cargoes and halting local fuel sales as currency distortions made operations unprofitable.
Buying crude in dollars and selling fuel in a weakening naira is a recipe for red ink, and calls for government-backed import bans have underscored just how fragile the model is.
Nigeria’s oil reforms may be luring rigs back to the delta, but if its refining dream continues to falter, the paradox remains: a top global crude exporter still at risk of shortages at home.
By Julianne Geiger
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