Ogbaland oil spill: NOSDRA assures of speedy clean up
By Godwin Egba - Special Correspondent, Port Harcourt
The Chairman, National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), Major Lancelot Anyanya (rtd), has assured the Oba of Ogbaland of Rivers State, Chukwumela Nnam Obi II, that all cases of oil spill would be treated with speed.
The NOSDRA chairman, however, appealed for collaboration with the community for them to have pollution-free environment.
Expressing happiness over the NOSDRA chairman’s position, Chukwumela Nnam Obi II, who is also the Eze Oba of Ogba Land, described it as timely, noting that his domain, which he said was relegated to the background by past administrations over bad leadership, would overcome the challenges, adding, that he “sees new leaders who are committed to God”.
Eze Oba disclosed that he would always recognize leaders that are close to God, stressing that Rivers State had lost its glory due to certain responsibility by the leaders.
He noted that the turbulent nature of the state calls for adequate emergency response to enable the inhabitants have a feel of development.
“While other states are advancing great prospects, Rivers State is lagging behind simply because of highhandedness and arrogance by the leaders. If you know your history or your father, you will excel. We have charlatans who are clamoring to rule, but God will certainly give us a leader”, the royal father stressed.
He assured Anyanya of the support of Ogba people in his quest for the future, adding that whoever must lead must love God and prayed that the Almighty God should use the NOSDRA chairman as an instrument of development in the state. The chairman of NOSDRA, Major Anyanya, applauded the Omoku monarch and lauded his hospitality, describing leadership as a spiritual value that needs a sound and nature person.
The post By Igoniko Oduma Correspondent, Yenagoa One of the vital steps so far taken by the Federal Government to encourage indigenous firms’ participation in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector is the enactment of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act, 2010. Previously known in informal circles as ‘Local Content Bill’, President Goodluck Jonathan signed it into law in April 2010. He performed that task as the then acting President of the country. Jonathan had expressed confidence at the signing ceremony that the new law would promote local participation in the oil and gas industry. “This bill seeks to address the compelling need for us as a nation to have indigenous participation in the industry”, he stated. Section 1 of the Act states that the law “Shall apply to all matters pertaining to Nigerian content in respect of all operations or transactions carried out in or connected with the Nigerian oil and gas industry”. It further emphasised in Section 2 that “All regulatory authorities, operators, contractors, sub-contractors, alliance partners and other entities involved in any project, operation, activity or transaction in the Nigerian oil and gas industry shall consider Nigerian content as an important element of their overall project development and management philosophy for project execution”. As expected, some indigenous firms had been trying their best to take advantage of the instrumentality of the law to actively participate in oil and gas activities to produce in-country products that would serve the needs of oil and gas majors in the industry. One of such indigenous firms is Egba Split Clamps Limited, which, for the first time in the country, produced clamps to prevent oil leakages in pipelines. It is believed that this innovation, which had been certified by relevant standards organisations, would go a long way to help in the edging of frequent pipeline leakages recorded by international oil companies, especially in the Niger Delta region. The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC) discovered the Effurun, Delta State-based Egba Split Clamps Limited in 2009 during its ‘Local Content Day Exhibition’ in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Recently, the indigenous company took its exhibition to the headquarters of the Nigerian Content Development Management Board (NCDMB) in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State. In his presentation, Managing Director of Egba Split Clamps Limited, Joseph Okpro, said it was the desire of the company to be the first choice in Nigeria and West Africa in the design and manufacture of standard split-sleeve clamps and provision of clamping services in the oil and gas industry. Okpro said the clamps were targeted at oil companies as well as international market to solve the problems associated with pipeline leakages. He stated that after the Port Harcourt exhibition, Shell developed sufficient interest in the company and provided sponsorship until it received wide acceptability in the country’s oil and gas sector. He noted that Shell took the initiative because of the enormity of resources required to manufacture clamps in the country. He said Shell sponsored the production of some clamps and ensured that the company got the necessary certifications it needed to be well received in the industry. He said he was delighted that since the exhibition, the company, with 37 staff strength, had made remarkable progress to develop manufacture procedures and design calculations of the split-sleeve clamps. “The SPDC is currently sponsoring the company’s professional certification to international standards. “We are certain that upon completion of the certification process, Egba Split Clamps Limited will produce high quality clamps fit for use in the oil and gas industry”, he said. Okpro stated that although the company, at present, lacks the capacity to accommodate interns, it was committed to providing product and sales that would enhance and optimise the clients’ performance. “The demand for clamps is high. Before now, clamps were imported. Only Shell has been patronizing us”, he explained. He said the company was out to fill a huge void in the oil sector, adding that currently, there was no indigenous manufacturer of pressure-containing clamps in Nigeria and that the IOCs have had to depend on imported clamps. Okpro said: “ESCL understands the demands of the industry and used their combined talents to ensure the provision of fast, responsive and dependable services to clients. “As part of the Nigerian content development policy, the company shall train Nigerian personnel to acquire more knowledge and technical expertise on every aspect of our operation. “We can take care of 35 per cent of industry needs and requirements but we have road map to close the 65 per cent gap existing.We shall only make use of foreign materials and services where it is not available in the local environment. “Our sub-contractors and suppliers shall be from the Nigerian environment except where it is not applicable or found to affect our standard of product.” He commended the Federal Government for putting in place the enabling environment which made it possible to produce the machines. The managing director, who confessed it was capital-intensive to manufacture the machines, appealed to the NCDMB to assist his firm and encourage other oil companies to leverage on the clamps for their pipeline protection. In his remarks, Shell’s General Manager, Igo Weli, represented by the company’s Head of Nigerian Content Development, Oshikhena Ojior, explained that the SPDC supported Nigerian content development because it would enable it to do business cost-effectively. He further highlighted the importance of the clamps to the industry and assured of Shell’s continued support towards ensuring the machines achieved the required standards to meet internal certification. “We in Shell believe that the support will make us do our business in more cost-effective manner. It is indeed, business imperative. “The clamp is like a temperature measure that any pipeline that is ruptured can stop. It acts basically like bandage which prevents leakages of pipeline. These machines have been proved to be effective. “Our aspiration is that as long as Shell exists, we will support our local vendors. Shell has given support to ensure that the required standards are met and to get internal certification. We have placed more orders for the clamps”, Weli said. Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Ernest Nwapa, lauded Egba Split Clamps Limited for “passing the test”. While assuring of the board’s willingness to guarantee the company to enable it access loans from the banks, Nwapa noted that the breakthrough was worth celebrating in Nigeria. He equally advised the company to look beyond the Nigerian market and requested it to avail the agency of the manufacturing process of the clamps. “We are not business men but we will assist you to drive the process. This is an initiative that Nigerians are proud of. “However, in Africa, Nigeria is a signatory to ECOWAS protocols trade agreement. To this end, you must not limit your business to Nigeria but to extend it to other African countries. I am sure your products are needed there”, Nwapa said. appeared first on Daily Independent, Nigerian Newspaper.