Communities in Bayelsa State threatens to shut down Shell plant

The Kolo-Creek Cluster Development Board in Bayelsa state’s Ogbia Local Government Area threatened to shut down activities at Shell’s oilfields on Wednesday because the firm failed to provide them with electricity. 

According to Report, the ultimatum is the consequence of the oil company’s repeated delays, which have resulted in missed deadlines for delivering promised power. 

The state administration of Bayelsa, which has been mediating the matter since a demonstration in December 2021, has encouraged residents to remain calm. 

In his office at Government House in Yenagoa, Lieutenant Governor Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo made the appeal while meeting with community leaders, cluster board executives, and other representatives from Otuasega, Elebele, Oruma, and Imiringi.  

The meeting followed the Kolo-Creek Cluster Villages issuing a 14-day ultimatum to Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to execute its agreement with the cluster board on restoring electricity to communities. 

The paramount rulers of the Imiringi, Otuasega, Oruma, and Elebele villages signed an ultimatum letter demanding the restoration of power, among other pressing commitments. 

It required the quick commissioning of Morpol Engineering Services Limited’s 2.5 MVA generator and the granting of the contract for the Oruma high-voltage line. 

He said that since 2013, the SPDC has “deliberately refused to follow the agreements it made with the cluster communities on multiple occasions.”  

When the deadline expires, the villages will close all oil facilities and platforms in Kolo-Creek, according to the letter. 

The lieutenant governor, on the other hand, has urged residents to be more patient, telling them that the administration is working to resolve the issues. 

Mr. Ewhrudjakpo stated that the state administration was dissatisfied with the SPDC’s attitude toward its commitments to restore electricity to the Kolo Creek Cluster’s host villages. 

He begged with residents to give the authorities one more chance to “get past the area’s lengthy darkness.”  

No one would blame the communities for shutting down the oil facilities if the SPDC failed to fulfill its end of the deal for the umpteenth time, according to the lieutenant governor. 

The Supreme Ruler of Elebele, David Osene, spoke on behalf of the villages, lamenting that they had been without power for nine years, since 2013. 

Despite the SPDC’s aggressive attitude for over a decade, he continued, the group’s neighborhoods have been remarkably tranquil. 

He stated that if nothing significant is done, the oil installations in his region will be closed within two weeks.