S76,
So it's exactly as ETB has said, for a Nigerian, he's effectively stuck here. I only know of 2 Nigerians who was taken on by CHC Global. One was told he couldn't work in Nigeria for them. However he had dual nationality. The other was already in a management job with CHC in Aberdeen and was transferred to Capetown as GM there. The others who've left have mostly gone to Qatar, or have dual nationality and have no problem working in other countries.
Two expatriates were kidnapped from a bar in Onne last night, presumably one outside the supposedly secure camps in which most expatriates live?
The pull out of Julius Berger from the region is having a severe knock on effect as they have now started to lay off workers. It is speculated that the company is unlikely to resume operations soon, as the situation in the region has deteriorated with the killing of three soldiers and two civilians on transport boat from Obioku to Yenagoa and the attack on a police station, leaving an inspector dead. Security agencies are finding it difficult to tackle the issue of militancy in the Niger Delta due to the superior knowledge of the creeks by the militants.
With militant unions having forced Chevron Nigeria into laying off over 400 expatriate workers in the next 18 months, there is now also pressure on Shell, with reports in Nigerian newspapers that the government is trying to force it out of the Niger Delta. Shell has long been accused of enthusiastic collaboration with previous military administrations and complicity in the alleged murder of the late Ken Saro Wiwa by the military government of General Sani Abacha. The government are said to be ready to take possession of some of Shell's OMLs in Ogoniland as they have not been developed in the last 10 years. Local newspapers further report that the federal government is said to be investigating an alleged secret deal by Shell with another oil company; Addax to regain the possession of the oil field by proxy. Shell and Addax were said to have struck a deal on the retention of the oil field through Addax since Shell was reportedly aware of the ill motive of the government towards it. If the deal between the two oil companies works out, Shell would invariably have access to the oil bloc even after being eased out of the Niger Delta.
The SPDC, regarded as a colonialist oil company, has been a pioneer and leader of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. It has the largest acreage in the country from which it produces close to 43 per cent of the Nigeria’s oil. SPDC has more than 6,000 kilometers of pipelines and flow lines, 87 flow stations, 8 gas plants and more than 1,000 oil producing wells.
Meanwhile, with the long, lonmg-awaited Agbami contract not having been awarded to a helicopter company as yet, last Thursday Chevron announced that it produced the first oil from the field. Current bproduction rate is 20,000 barrels per day, with an expected increase to 100,000 bpd by next January. The company has stated that it is not worried about political instability in the country, noting that the Agbami field is 70 miles offshore - I hope he won't be forced to eat his words in the light of what happened to the Bonga field recently
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With continued unrest and border raids along the border between Nigeria and Cameroon, a Nigerian court has now decreed that Nigeria should halt the handover of terrority in the Bakassi peninsula, due to happen on 14 August, despite President Yar'Adua's pledge that Nigeria will hand the terrority over.
There seems to be no end to the woes which Nigeria seems to be so easily able to heap on itself, but as long as there is oil there will be oil companies here. As long as there are oil companies producing and exploring, there will be helicopters here and no matter what the danger or perceived danger, there will be pilots willing to come here as long as the money is good enough. The problem at the moment is that CHC and Aero have not sorted out the future of their partnership (if there is to be one at all), leading to the poor morale which accompanies uncertainty. Bristow pilots are still waiting to see what the result of their pay review (due last month) will be. If it's anything like the constant reassurance that they will know about Agbami next week/month, their staff could be waiting for many months yet before they hear anything
