The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has lamented the failure of most indigenous companies to manage the divested assets they acquired from International Oil Companies in the country.
The union conveyed the development in a statement signed by its President,Comrade Festus Osifo and General Secretary Comrade Lumumba .I. Okugbawa.
Bemoaning the spate of the divestment,the union said that the trend which started in 2012 has spread quickly within the industry and has somewhat reduced the fortunes of developments within the oil and gas fields.
It said:“While we are not averse to indigenous participation in the Nigerian Oil and Gas industry, we will not fold our arms and allow mediocre to take hold of our national assets and ruin the fortunes of future generations for immediate gains.
It said: “It is on record that since IOCs started divestment in 2012, most of the companies that purchased such assets do not have and cannot attract the requisite finances for capital expenditures in such fields nor have made reasonable efforts to provide the required human and technical developments of Nigerians within their establishment.
“Most of these companies practically draw from the existing wells until it is dried up. They do not substantially if at all invest in work over operations or drilling of new wells. A country whose major source of foreign exchange earnings is Oil and Gas cannot afford to allow this depletion to continue and this charge PENGASSAN has decided to lead”.
It added that most of these companies do not only refuse the unionization of workers but also subject their employees to sub-optimal conditions.
It said the development is reprehensible and against all known laws and conventions.
The union vowed that it will henceforth not cooperate with any company whether indigenous or foreign that does not have the capacity to develop the oil and gas fields or have a track record of subjecting employees to modern-day slavery.
“The Minister of Petroleum must be worried of portfolio and briefcase investors in the Oil and Gas sector whose sole aim is to milk the field dry, as this will prevent a similar fate that befell the power sector. NNPC limited must be strengthened to become a major player in the upstream environment to spur and attract investment to Nigeria
“Concerted efforts should be made to persuade and further incentivize the IOCs to remain in the country in order to benefit from the newly passed PIA. However, should they decide to exit after all efforts fail, a good investor that has relevant technical experience, good financial standing, and reputation for managing employees must be sort after”, PENGSSAN added.
It said in such divestments, the jobs of Nigerians working in such locations, their exit/welfare package, and the ability of the investors to continuously develop such field which will, in turn, provide jobs for Nigerians working in the oil and gas service sector will be of utmost priority.
He advised the Federal Government to make concerted efforts and persuade and further incentivize the IOCs to remain in the country in order to benefit from the newly passed Petroleum Industry Act
