The General Manager, External Relations of Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Igo Weli, has disclosed that the company’s economic contribution to the Nigerian government in four years has hit $29bn.
Giving the insights in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital at the 2017 Swamp West Hub Integrated Stakeholders Engagement Forum for Tarakiri/Egbema/Oporoma Community Leadership, Weli said the company contributed $1.8bn to the Niger Delta Development Company’s funds within the period for the development of communities in the region.
Represented by the Assets Manager, Swamp West Hub, SPDC, Mr. Mesh Maithibi, the image maker of the firm, Weli, revealed that SPDC contributed $1.8bn to the Niger Delta Development Company’s funds within the period for the development of communities in the region.
Weli added that “The economic contribution from the SPDC JV partners to the Nigerian government between 2012 and 2016 was $29bn”.
“We also know that we have the NDDC and the NDDC was set up to develop basically the Niger Delta and the Federal Government has come up with a law where all the oil companies must pay certain amount to the NDDC for them to use in development.
“As a company, as a joint venture partner, we have contributed $1.8bn into the NDDC’s funds within the period. And the expectation is that these funds will be used for the development of our community’s socio-development, roads, bridges and all of that. That is part of the joint venture development that we have.”
Weli regretted that the company suffers scenarios where its facilities were shut down and assets blocked by people in the region, decrying that such disturbing situations could hamper the development of the region and urged the people to cooperate with oil companies in order to achieve maximum development.
He averred that “SPDC have had situations where our facilities were shut down. We have had situations where our assets have been blocked, not by outsiders but by those us from this region.
“The money that comes into our state and local governments is from production of oil and gas. We want all of us to help one another. When there is money in the state, there will be investment and development.
“If we allow these things such as illegal oil bunkering, theft and vandalism to happen, the resources that accrue to the state will also go down and it will affect every sector of the state and local economy. That is why we are here. We want to talk. I want to show you some statistics of what we, as a company, have done towards the development of the region,” Weli noted.
