ODAHIEKWU OGUNDE, Yenagoa
Protesting residents of Koluama community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have vacated a crude production flowstation operated by Conoil Production at Ango field shut down on March 8, 2021.
Indications emerged on Thursday that oil production had resumed at the oilfield as the gas flares that characterise oil flow station have returned.
The facility was shut down over the alleged refusal of the oil firm to renew a lapsed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which spells out its social obligations to its host communities.
The aggrieved community members had besieged the facility and forced the oil workers to shut down operations and leave the site of the 30,000 barrels per day capacity flow station.
The Youth President of Koluama 1, Mr Philip Emmanuel, said in Yenagoa, the state capital, that members of the community who occupied the facility after it was shut had left the site.
He said that the action followed a meeting held by representatives of Conoil, Koluama community and security agents.
He said: “We left the facility after a meeting of our community leaders held in Yenagoa where the issue of the MoU was the sole topic. Discussion around a review has started although not much progress has been made.
“So, following the development, our community leadership in an effort to show goodwill instructed us to come out of the facility and on Sunday we came down. The meeting has been adjourned until March 21.
“The position of the community is that the company has grown its production from 10,000 barrels per day to the current 30,000 barrels per day, so they should review their development contributions to the community.
“We shall resist the use of security agents to intimidate our representatives and we insist that they are to restrict their functions and not take sides to coerce and shut out our people from expressing their grievances.”
A community leader in the rural settlement along the Atlantic coast, Chief Young Fabby, also confirmed in a telephone interview that the facility had resumed production.
He said that the gas-flare stack which indicates production status has been ignited and is burning off associated gas.
The Media Relations Manager at Conoil, Mr Abiodun Azeez, declined to respond to enquiries to comment on the ongoing dialogue with members of the oil firm’s host community.
Bayelsa State Commissioner for Mineral Resources, Mr Ibieri Jones, also confirmed on the telephone that the Koluama community had vacated the facility and oil production had resumed.
“Yes, we held a meeting with them on Saturday and they agreed to leave the facility; the women left that Saturday evening while the youths vacated the next day,” Jones said.