BY EMMA AMAIZE, REGIONAL EDITOR, S-SOUTH
GENERAL Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, PGPA, Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, Engineer Femi Odumabo, in this interview with Vanguard said Koluama communities was not in any danger  of being wiped away as a result the gas explosion, adding that the gaseous emissions were natural  and not toxic , as some people insinuated.

He, however, said the company was carrying out tests to determine any risky effect and find solution. Excerpt.

BOTH Koluama 1 and Koluama 2 communities complain that the relief materials sent by your company were not enough and what was sent was provocative. Is the company planning more reliefs?

The food donation is a one-off gift in recognition and appreciation for the assistance the residents of these shoreline communities provided, including locating and rescuing some workers from the drilling rig. This is a way of expressing our sincere gratitude to the people and the communities for their support and not relief materials.

Other communities, notably Tamazo and Ebidouama say that Chevron did not send relief materials at all and accused the company of divide and rule, why were they left out?

Femi Odumabo...Chevron coordinating medical support

Again, please note that Chevron donated food items to Community Stakeholders as a way of expressing our sincere gratitude to the people and the communities for their support and not relief materials. Communities who assisted us as stated benefitted from the donated items.

The people of Koluama clan say strange diseases such as vomiting, stomach pains, asthma, uneven breathing have reared up in their communities as a result of the gas fire, is your company aware of the implication of the fire to their health?

To date, onshore air testing has not found any detectable levels of pollutants from the natural gas fire. The company also regularly monitors the air at its offshore rigs and platforms. This monitoring shows normal air quality. CNL notes that none of its workers on facilities nearest the incident site have reported any airborne health issues.

Have medical experts been deployed to attend them in view of the health challenge?

Chevron is  in the process of coordinating medical support, as part of its Corporate Responsibility programme, for people in the KEFFES Rural Development Foundation. It is a Community Health Programme designed by New Nigerian Foundation (NNF) and funded by Chevron to provide health intervention in the area of Malaria, Tuberculosis and other diseases prevalent in the riverine area in the area.

The cottage hospital in Koluama clan is not equipped, is Chevron thinking of doing anything in this regard?

Koluama a member of the KEFFES Rural Development Foundation will benefit from the medical outreach, however, Koluama Community has the opportunity to include the equipment of the cottage hospital in the RDC’s three-year Community Development Plan under the GMoU and it would be executed by funding provided by Chevron. We continue to uphold our values as a responsible and responsive corporate citizen. The RDCs decide what the community priorities are and we support that.

The people are expressing fear of being wiped out by the explosion, which shook the foundation of their homes, judging from their experience in 1953 when the ancient Koluama was washed due to an explosion allegedly caused by a different oil company, are you disturbed by this fear?

CNL shares the concerns of the people of Nigeria about this incident. We have engaged residents of the shoreline communities to listen to their concerns, explain what has happened and demonstrate our extensive response.

We continue to monitor the well and the surrounding area for impacts to the environment. Tests of the air and the water and constant monitoring of the beaches show there is no evidence of significant impact to the environment or the shoreline communities as a result of the incident. There is no crude oil spill associated with the fire from the incident exploration gas well.

We have conducted flyovers of the site to monitor any possible impacts to the marine and coastal environment. The estimated volume of the sheen was approximately 13 barrels, which has been contained and as of January. 20 was no longer visible.  Since Jan. 16, we have conducted flyovers several times for beach assessment and we can confirm that this incident has not impacted the beach or communities. A number of representatives from various government agencies – Department of Petroleum Resources, NOSDRA, and the Governor of Bayelsa State – have visited the site recently and seen for themselves there is no impact on the residents of shoreline communities from this incident.

Employment from local communities

We are currently employing approximately 30 people from local communities to observe the beaches for any impact.

Chevron is quoted as saying that the gas fire was not capable of causing any harm to the people and their environment, but fishes are dying, while some villagers are experiencing different health problems, what is the scientific basis of the company’s position?

Sampling and testing of air, sea/river water, sediment, soil, fisheries and vegetation is being conducted by independent environmental consultant, Fugro Nigeria Limited  to determine any impacts on the environment. These tests are ongoing and constant monitoring of the beaches show there is no scientific evidence of significant impact to the environment or the shoreline communities as a result of the incident. We have also asked the University of Benin to launch an independent health assessment of local residents to provide further assurance that there is no health risk from this incident.

The communities complained that their indigenes are not employed by the company, is this correct?

CNL is an equal opportunity employer and would continue to disclose available employment opportunities to communities for them to nominate candidates.

They said Chevron deliberately does not want to build a gas station in Koluama 2 because its intention is to shortchange them by piping gas from their community to Brass LNG off-shore, is this correct?

Chevron’s investment decisions are based on the most practicable business cases as determined by ourselves, NNPC and DPR and the company does not discriminate against communities in such decisions.

Is Chevron aware that Koluama clan has vowed to sabotage the laying of gas pipeline from its territory to Brass?

Chevron believes in the resolution of all disputes through dialogue with respect for the Rule of Law. Chevron believes that its communities partners respect the rule of law and would always chose to use the courts as opposed to taking the law into their own hands or resorting to violence, which Chevron does not believe will occur. Chevron encourages all parties to seek an amicable resolution of their grievances through their community leaders. Moreover, many members of the community are going to benefit from the gas project.

Koluama 2 is insisting on a GMOU with Chevron as its principal landlord, does the company recognize the community as its chief host?

Koulama 2 is already a part of the KEFFES Rural Development Foundation, an organization which has been working very hard to develop member communities. It would be observed that in November 2011, KEFFES Rural Development Foundation, commissioned 26 Chevron-funded infrastructural projects last November. These include  10 teachers quarters buildings with furniture, 3 potable water projects, 7 public toilets, 2 concrete foot bridges, 1 community rest house, installation of  2 electricity transformers, 1 concrete jetty and a renovated primary school building. The GMOU allows the communities to determine the priority for expenditure on projects in their own areas.

If due care was taken by the company, why did gas fire occur?

We are investigating to determine the root cause of this incident so that we can take appropriate action to try to prevent something like this from happening again.

What did Chevron lose as a result of this gas fire?

Our focus is not on financial details at this time. Our priority is protecting people and the environment and moving forward with our plan to put out the fire and permanently seal the well.