FG opens talks with militants, Chevron’s Escravos terminal attacked

The Federal Government has met with a select group of militants from the restive Niger Delta as a result of the ongoing attacks on oil pipelines in the region.

It was gathered that the meeting, which was attended by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole; Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Usani Usani; National Security Adviser, Maj. Gen. Babagana Monguno (retd); and Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta, Brig. Gen. Paul Boroh (retd.), was arranged by the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu.

A dependable source said the militants who attended the meeting were not the ones captured under the Amnesty Programme.

Boroh confirmed to one of our correspondents on the telephone that the meeting focused on the need to stop the attacks on the oil pipelines in the region.

However, he did not give details of the meeting.

It was learnt that Boroh, who is also the Amnesty Programme boss, had been mandated to move to all the states of the Niger Delta in order to prevent the avengers from further attacking oil pipelines in the region.

Investigation revealed that Boroh commenced the meeting with the group in Edo State on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Kachikwu has called for the restructuring of the amnesty programme in a bid to stop the incessant bombings of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta.

He made the call during a meeting between the Federal Government and stakeholders from the region on Thursday, with participants at the gathering resolving to work together to stop the upsurge in attacks on critical oil and gas installations and ensure security, stability and economic development of the area.

The minister expressed the Federal Government’s readiness to check the resurgence of pipeline sabotage in the region.

The minister, according to a statement from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, added that all the states in the region would nominate four or five representatives to work hand-in-hand with security agencies to secure oil facilities in their respective states.

Kachikwu was quoted to have said, “The Niger Delta governors must be involved in providing lasting solutions to the resurgence of pipeline vandalism and there is an urgent need to create business opportunities for the locals in the region.”

 Oshiomole and other leaders of the Niger Delta region, who spoke at the meeting, urged the agitators to drop their arms and embrace dialogue as the Federal Government was committed to the development of the area.

Meanwhile, an attack by suspected militants in the Niger Delta on Chevron’s main electricity power line at the Escravos terminal on Thursday led to the shutdown of the oil major’s onshore operations in the region.

Our correspondent gathered that the damaged pipeline supplies the gas used to generate electricity at the Escravos tank farm, where crude oil is stored before being exported through the Escravos terminal.

According to industry sources, at least 100,000 barrels per day of oil output have now been shut in following the closure of the terminal.

A militant group called the Niger Delta Avengers claimed responsibility for the attack, few days after it destroyed the Chevron Okan platform, a collection facility for offshore oil and gas that feed the Escravos terminal.

Thursday’s incident was the latest in a string of attacks by the group, which had told oil firms to leave the region before the end of the month.

A company source was quoted by Reuters to have said that “all activities in Chevron are grounded” onshore. Planned Escravos exports in the first half of 2016 averaged 167,000 bpd.

A Chevron spokeswoman in the United States said on Thursday that it was against the firm’s policy to comment on the safety and security of personnel and operations.

When contacted, the General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Chevron Nigeria, Mr. Deji Haastrup, told our correspondent, “Not commenting at this time.”

The Escravos onshore production accounts for roughly a third of Chevron’s total output, on average 3.8 million barrels per month in 2014, according to the latest available data from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.

The NDA said on a Twitter handle on Thursday morning, “We warned Chevron but they didn’t listen. The Niger Delta Avengers just blew up the Escravos tank farm main electricity feed pipeline.”

SOURCE