Host communities execute N6b contract to deepen cooperation

Contracts worth N6 billion have been awarded to six oil and gas communities in Niger Delta under a joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Eroton Exploration and Production Limited.

Eroton said in a statement that the contracts, which were awarded from 2016 to July 2020, were under the terms of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) with its host communities through the five Cluster Boards (CDBs).

Eroton operates the oil mining lease (OML) 18 that covers a total area of 1,035 SQKM offshore Eastern Niger Delta (Swamp/Shallow Water) on behalf of the NNPC/Eroton Joint Venture (JV).

The oil firm said the cordial relationship has yielded an outstanding growth in production from 10,000 barrel per day (bpd) to 75,000 bpd at peak production following the acquisition of the asset in 2015.

It added that its entrepreneurship programme (ErotonPreneurshp -EP), had made a positive social impact on communities, contributing to local business development, job creation, and capacity development.

Chairman, DAA-3 Cluster Board, Christian Seikibo, was quoted in the release as saying: “the contribution of Eroton to the development of host community contractors is worthy of emulation by other players in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
Chief Executive Officer”, Eroton E&P, Ebiaho Emafo, said the company would continue to award contracts fairly, involving the communities as stated in their GMoUs.

Emafo said: “We have a mandate to ensure that community contractors receive opportunities to tender for work of a type and complexity appropriate to their abilities while continuously developing their ability to deliver on more complex projects.”

He explained that the programme was initiated to ensure that entrepreneurs from the host communities acquired relevant entrepreneurial and management skills, actively participate in projects/services, and have access to capital through invoice discounting agreements with key financial institutions.

Over 20 host community contractors are continuously engaged in the provision of services ranging from the construction of pipelines to solid control, and filtration.

The organisation urged the communities to stay healthy and keep their spirits high considering that the world is currently faced with an unprecedented public health crisis, where communities and businesses across the globe are navigating through the uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.