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| Dr. Mofoluso Fagbeja |
Dr. Fagbeja made the call
in Abuja, at a roundtable on the ‘Decommissioning
of Redundant Oil and Gas Installation in Nigeria.’ He said that the current
trend of divestment of onshore oil and gas assets in favour of offshore assets
required balancing of sustainable development objectives with final project
outcomes and completion.
In his own words: “The necessary improvement includes environmental protection
pollution control and sustainable exploitation of resources measures, consideration
of the need for economic growth and development and a focused on the health,
safe and security of hosting communities.”
He underscored the need for
provision of restoration approach and action around decommissioned assets,
adding that the provision would guarantee the remedies to the environment,
livelihoods and social systems of communities that hosted oil and gas
operations.
According to him, the host
communities should be educated on decommissioning and other aspect of the oil
industry to enable them hold government and international oil companies
accountable.
He said: “There should be robust communication process around the
abandonment or decommissioning of used assets to ensure that the host
communities are fully informed and consulted during and after the
decommissioning.”
Dr. Fagbeja said that the
empowerment of regulators with resources to secure their independence from oil
companies was a positive development, and recommended the establishment of
effective channels of communication between the oil producing communities and
the regulators.
He added that the
legislation governing the oil companies had also improved and urged the
communities to cooperate with the sustainability partners with a view to ensure
a clean environment and healthy decommissioning.
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