Hector Igbikiowubo
13 January 2009
NIGERIA'S crude oil output remains shrouded in secrecy despite announcement by Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN) lifting force majeures on its production imposed twice last year owing to an attack on its facilities and OPEC inspired cuts, both government and company officials ran shy of divulging production figures.
Efforts by Vanguard to get officials of the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to disclose the implications of the lifted force majeure on production proved abortive at the time of filling this report.
When contacted, Mr. Precious Okolobo, one of the spokespersons at the SPDC said he was not aware of any implications the lifted force majeure may have on production, noting, "I am not able to provide any guidance on production figures at this moment".
Another staff of the company who pleaded anonymity insisted that the company's production status has no bearing on the lifting of the force majeure, adding that it is better to stick to the letter of the statement earlier released by the company.
In a statement released last Thursday, the company disclosed that "effective 18:00 hrs (Nigerian time) yesterday, January 7, 2009, the force majeures declared on crude oil off-takes by SPDC and SNEPCo in respect of security related shut-ins and OPEC quota have been lifted.
SPDC declared a force majeure in July 2008 due to deferments caused by attacks on facilities and pipelines, while another declaration in October 2008 in SNEPCo and SPDC was linked to OPEC quota cuts on Nigeria. The force majeures have been lifted because the associated commercial obligations for crude oil off-takes have been met".
When contacted, a petroleum ministry official who also did not want his name in print said only Dr. Rilwanu Lukman, the minister of petroleum, Mr. Odein Ajumogobia, the minister of state for petroleum, Abubakar Yabo, the permanent secretary, Aliyu, Sabonbiri, the acting Director, DPR, Abubakar Lawal Yar'Adua, the acting Group Managing Director, NNPC and Chris Ogiemwonyi, the NNPC executive director, exploration and production, could say for sure what the country's current crude oil output was.
He also disclosed that Mr. Baba Kusa, the NNPC group general manager in charge of crude oil marketing and Dr. M.K Baru were also well aware of what the country current crude oil output amounted to at any point in time.
When contacted however, Mr. Ogiemwonyi said he did not have the details neither was he aware of Shell having lifted any force majeure on its production.
"What I am aware of is that Shell still has two force majeures on its output from Oben and Soku pending. As I speak with you, I do not have any letter from Shell saying it has lifted any force majeure," he said.
When contacted, Dr. Baru explained that he was not permitted to speak with the media and advised that the corporation's public affairs department be contacted.
However, Vanguard gathered from an official of the corporation that the country's crude oil output averaged 1.99 million barrels per day in December, 2008.
Efforts to get a reaction from all others identified above proved abortive at the time of going to press, leaving the current status of the country's crude oil output a subject of public speculation and conjectures.
Checks revealed that the DPR used to publish crude oil output figures some six years ago but had to discontinue following a directive from the presidency.
Currently, production figures can only be obtained from OPEC monthly reports on production figures, fueling further speculations and conjectures regarding the country's true production figures.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 Vanguard. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
