Blackout is imminent nationwide as suspected militants yesterday blew up a section of the Escravos gas trunkline behind salvation city, near Ogbe-Ijoh in Warri South West Local Government Area of Delta State, in an assault that impaired gas supply to major power plants in Nigeria.
This is coming as President Muhammadu Buhari urged militants in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with his government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua’s administration.
The sabotaged gas pipeline which contributes to the Escravos Lagos Pipeline System (ELPS) has led to a loss of 160mmsfcd of gas daily. The Federal Government said the last time the pipeline was blown, the power and gas sectors incurred multiple losses in repairs, electricity shortage and gas sales resulting in a loss of N470million daily.
The attack on the pipeline connected to Chevron Nigeria Limited’s facility at Escravos, impacted negatively on the Olorunsogo NIPP plant (capacity 600MW) and other Power Plants.
FG risks N470m daily
At a cost of $2.50 per thousand scf, this loss means about $400,000 loss to the country on a daily basis (N78,800,000 daily) in gas volume, the minister of power, Mr. Babtunde Fashola, said in January when the installation was attacked.
A statement signed by the Special Adviser, Communications to the minister of power, works and housing, Hakeem Bello, said: “This is in addition to losses to be incurred daily from affected power generation ($1,988,223 or N391,680,000 daily).
The total daily loss to the country is therefore estimated at N470,479,931. Repairs of the damaged pipeline is estimated as costing ($609,137 or N120,000.000). Escravos GTL is a gas to liquids (GTL) project based in Escravos region, Nigeria. It is located in the Niger Delta about 100 kilometres (62 mi) southeast of Lagos.
The plant converts natural gas into liquid petroleum products. The suspected militants blew up a section of the Escravos gas trunkline behind salvation city, near Ogbe- Ijoh in Warri South-West local government area of the state.
The Escravos Gas To Liquid (GTL) project was developed by Chevron Nigeria Limited (75 per cent) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (15 per cent). Sasol gained interest in the project early on, acquiring half of Chevron Nigeria’s stake; however, due to increased cost and delays, Sasol reduced its stake to 10 per cent in late 2008.
The GTL plant cost US$10 billion and started up in summer 2014; its original cost started out at US$1.9 billion in 2005, rising to US$5.9 billion in 2009 but continued to escalate. It has an initial capacity of 34,000 barrels per day (5,400 m3/d) of synfuel.
The plant uses the Fischer- Tropsch process technology and Chevron’s ISOCRACKING technology. Escravos Lagos pipeline recorded an attack in February, resulting in the shortage of 3,132 megawatts (Mw) of electricity, and difficulties for operators of power generation plants. It also affected the gas supply through the gas pipeline from Olero Creek.
It would be recalled that the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), a new militant group, had claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in the region.
Buhari orders military to deal with ‘saboteurs’
However, President Buhari, while speaking at a meeting with the Global Director (Upstream) of the Royal Dutch Shell Group, Mr. Andrew Brown, said he had directed the Chief of Naval Staff to reorganise and strengthen the military Joint Task Force (JTF) in the Niger Delta to deal effectively with the resurgence of militancy and the sabotage of oil installations.
The President told Brown that the operations of the JTF were also being enhanced with increased support and cooperation from the United States and Europe in the areas of training, intelligence, equipment and logistics. He said: “We have to be very serious with the situation in the Niger Delta because it threatens the national economy.
I assure you that everything possible will be done to protect personnel and oil assets in the region.” The President assured oil companies operating in the Niger Delta that the Federal Government was taking all necessary actions to protect strategic assets in the region from vandals and criminals.
The president urged aggrieved persons, militants and communities in the Niger Delta to drop their confrontational stance and work with those who had been charged by the Federal Government to review the Amnesty Programme initiated by the Yar’Adua administration for the benefit of all parties. Earlier, Brown had appealed for an urgent solution to rising crime and militancy in the Niger Delta.
Two soldiers die in boat mishap
Also yesterday, two unidentified soldiers attached to the JTF in the Niger Delta, Operation Pulo Shield, have died in a boat accident in Bayelsa State. The unnamed soldiers, said to be escorting oil officials from a spill site, reportedly drowned and died at Taylor Creek near an oilfield operated by Nigerian Agip Oil Company in Okordia area of Yenagoa.
A community source, who craved anonymity, said the incident occurred on Thursday evening. The source said the soldiers were on an escort duty and drowned when a boat conveying oil workers across the Taylor Creek capsized.He said: “The boat conveying the crew from Agip’s field capsized on their way back from the site at the oilfield across and before help could come the soldiers had drowned.
They were using a hand paddled canoe to cross the workers one at a time. “Soldiers were washing their boots when water entered the boat and it capsized. His rifle fell into the creek when the other members of the crew had crossed and waiting for him to cross.”
The source said that the attention of the fishermen operating in the creeks were drawn to the soldiers and the canoe driver, saying that by the time the fishermen arrived, the soldier had died and could not be rescued. The Youth President, Kalaba community in Okordia, Mr. Samuel Oburo, said the rifles of the dead soldiers were recovered by local divers on Friday.
‘We’ll defend Gbaramatu with our blood’
In another development, the Chairman of Kokodiagbene community in Gbaramatu Kingdom in Delta State, Mr. Sheriff Mulade, while speaking with one of our correspondents on the telephone yesterday, said the military should be held responsible for the lingering crisis in the Niger Delta region.
He alleged that the military had abandoned their duties and rather opted to harass, intimidate and main people from various communities at will. “The military has destroyed our traditional and cultural values. They have continued to kill, main and harass our people at will we will not take this nonsense anymore and they don’t want the crisis to end because of their selfish interest,” Mulade said, insist ing that the “gods” of Niger Delta would go after those who want “to destroy our peace loving communities.”
Mulade, who is also the chairman, Kokodiagbene community, further accused the military of collecting money from any boat that passes through their territory, and called on President Buhari to call them to order. “We don’t believe there is any further attack.
From within and outside our communities, any intruder should not dare because we have resolved to take a position. Those who fabricate stories to indict their political opponents should desist from it,” the community leader stated. According to him, Gbaramatu plays host to eight flow stations, namely Abiteye, Makaraba, Otunana being operated by Chevron Nigeria limited as well as Jones Creek, Odidi I and II, Egwa and Ii being Operated by shell and its allies.
“Based on this, Gbaramatu is a major oil-producing area and should not be destroyed by the self-seeking and so-called military team. But our major concern is the JTF who extort money from our people anyhow. “Whereas, the so-called military are the major illegal bunkers and they should be held responsible for the lingering crisis in the Niger Delta region. “As long as the JTF remain in Niger Delta, the regions will continue to be in crisis. We have resolved to be peace loving but the military does not want the area to be in peace,” Mulade further added.
He expressed regret that a lot of persons in Gbaramatu kingdom had fled their homes as a result of the continued harassment by the military and revealed that all the concerned communities in the kingdom would come together to form a peaceful Gbaramatu Kingdom. Mulade noted that government had failed to address the issue of marginalisation, stressing that what the area needed was through federalism which, he said, was the only solution to the crisis in the region.
“Government or the military can continue to kill, maim and harass us and if possible jail us but our position remains unchanged,” the Ijaw leader said. He also advised President Buhari to be impartial in this struggle, adding that he should not regards himself as regional president but president of the federation. He also accused security personnel in the Niger Delta region of complicity in the saga.
According to him, the security men can smoke out those behind the vandalism of oil and gas facilities belonging to NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture in Delta State and that of the Agip at Tumor in Bayelsa State. He said: “They are the ones escorting smugglers and oil bunkerers with their crude laden ‘Cotonou boats’, they even know those behind pipeline vandalism and how oil theft has been flourishing in the region.”
INC berates FG
Commenting on the development, the Legal Adviser to the Ijaw National Congress (INC) and the first female Commissioner in the defunct Bendel State, Chief Veronica Bamuza- Mutu, who condemned the approach of the militants, wondered why the Federal Government was dillydallying in alleviating the suffering of the indigenes of the oil-bearing communities in the region.
These came barely a week after Governor Ifeanyi Okowa, inaugurated an Advocacy Committee, headed by his deputy, Mr. Kingsley Burutu Otuaro, supported by Commissioner for Oil and Gas, Mr. Mofe Pirah, the Special Adviser on Niger Delta Affairs, Kelly Penaowu and Special Adviser on Petroleum Matters, Bosin Ebikeme, according to the governor, would collaborate with JTF and gave them a matching order to remain in the creeks pending when the ‘boys’ sheathe their swords. The governor was worried particularly about the NDA, who have within two week traumatised the inhabitants of Gbaramatu Kingdom.
