Sequel to the acquisition of Shell Petroleum Development Company’s onshore assets to a an indigenous oil firm, Nigeria’s oil workers under the auspices of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) have warned that any attempt to transfer the assets without resolving issues affecting their members would be met with the stiffest resistance the industry has ever witnessed.
A group of consortiums consisting of ND Western Limited, Aradel Holdings Pic. The Petrolin Group, FIRST Exploration and Petroleum Development Company Limited and the Waltersmith Group under the Renaissance group acquired the onshore assets.
PENGASAN said: “Having appraised the situation, reviewed the presentation and carried out preliminary findings, we wish to state as follows: The group is unknown to us and thus it’s an assemblage of unknown entities with no proven track record in managing such diverse assets.
“We reject without equivocation all the terms affecting employees that were communicated in the presentation to our members.
“One of the companies that made up the assemblage has a history of subjugating workers and subjecting them to untold hardship as exemplified in the current management of OML 34.
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“Another company in the group has a penchant for preventing workers from unionizing and thus stiffening their condition of services.
Any attempt to transfer the assets without resolving issues affecting our members will be met with the stiffest resistance the industry has ever witnessed.
“The group must come clean with its intention(s) and be ready to have serious engagement with the Association and not the jamboree that Shell Management is currently engaging in.
“We have communicated to our Shell/SNBO Branches not to be distracted but to focus on the CBA negotiation that is due about a week from now
“The industry regulator, JV Asset partners (NNPCL, Non-Operated Asset Partners) and other stakeholders are hereby put on notice”, the union stated in a statement on Tuesday.
