The
Chief Executive Officer, Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Mr. Peter Voser, has
said that security situation worsened in Nigeria in 2012.
Voser, in a speech posted on the
company’s website on Sunday, said, “ the overall security situation in
2012 has worsened. The stealing and sabotage of crude oil intensified.
It’s a multi-billion-dollar business.
“ Shell alone cannot solve these issues.
It needs to be a multi-stakeholder approach, as we have been saying for
many, many years. SPDC is prepared to do their share, but it needs more
than just Shell’s support in Nigeria. It needs concerted government
action to reduce theft of crude.”
He added there was some uncertainty in
Nigeria ’s petroleum industry because of ongoing discussion about a new
petroleum industry bill.
“That may change our views on investing
in Nigeria, depending on how this is implemented. The current draft –
which is still the subject of discussions and consultations – would make
it highly unlikely that Shell – and the whole industry – could invest
in offshore and domestic gas projects.
“This would be counterproductive to what Nigeria needs, which is gas for power generation and revenues to develop the nation.”
He, however, said that Nigeria had, from an oil and gas perspective, a lot of opportunities which SPDC was part of.
Voser added, “overall I am positive
about the future of Shell’s continued investments in Nigeria.” Voser
said the company had significant public discussions around the country,
in the Netherlands and to a lesser extent in the United Kingdom.
PUNCH
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