Oil wells: Delta host community alleges marginalisation, shuts production

• Protesting members of Ifie community

Members of Ifie-Kporo community, host to OML 24 and 25, in Macaraba oil field in the Warri South Local Government Area of Delta State on Wednesday embarked on a protest, culminating in the shutdown of operations in the two oil wells being operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited.

The protesters accused the multinational oil and gas firm of “gross marginalisation and failure of the company to properly recognise and engage with the community as her host community”.

As early as 7 o’clock in the morning, the placard-carrying members of the communities, comprising mainly youths and women, in multiple speedboats stormed the oil fields to register their grievances.

Inscriptions on their placards read, among others: ‘Chevron give us our right or leave our land. Enough is enough’,’Chevron will not operate our oil well until Ifie-kporo is fully recognised as your host community”, ‘Chevron, you can’t be operating in our community and refuse to recognise Ifie-Kpoko community as host’.

The protest climaxed in the shutdown of operations in both wells as the aggrieved community members insisted on registering their grievances “to compel Chevron Nigeria Limited to comply with standard best practices regarding oil companies engagement with the host communities in their areas of operations”.

The Ifie-kporo community protesters were emphatic that OML 24 and 25 in Macaraba field being operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited are located in their ancestral land, sending a stern warning to the oil multinational to “stay off both wells if they are not ready to be lawful, accord the community its host community status and allow the community to enjoy all her rights as stipulated in the PIA to fast track growth and development in Ifie-kporo”.

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Some of the protesters who spoke with journalists maintained that they were going to occupy the location until they get the desired result.

”We are tired of the deceitful and irresponsible game Chevron has been playing with us”, one of them said.

The protesters described the attitude of Chevron towards them, despite their peaceful disposition over the years, as “distasteful and one that is unbecoming of a company like Chevron”.

The protesters warned Chevron Nigeria Limited not to plunge the once peaceful area into chaos, urging the company to “immediately follow the precedent already laid since the time of Gulf when they duly cooperated and recognized Ifie-kporo community as their host community being the owners of the land where OML 24 and 25 are located”.

‎‎Efforts by our correspondent to obtain comments from the Chevron management on the issue were unsuccessful as they could not be reached.