PENGASSAN

Abuja, Oct. 10, 2023: The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called for a salary benchmark for oil and gas workers in the country.

Mr Festus Osifo, National President of the union said this a Second Edittion of the PENGASSAN Energy and Labour Submit on Monday in Abuja.

The submit which is a three- day event is titled,” Petroleum Downstream Deregulation and Gas Utilisation, for a Sustainable Energy Future in Nigeria”.

Osifo said that the call was imperative due to the recent policy direction by the Federal government that had placed untold hardship on the workers in the sector.

He said policy by government include the PMS subsidy removal and the floating of the Naira-dollar exchange rate.

According to him, the overarching impact of this on Nigerians can only be imagined rather than experienced.

“Part of the decisions of floatation has only benefited the government and the oil and gas companies in Nigeria.

“This has necessitated a call for salary benchmark for oil and gas workers, aligning with the instrument of trade of oil and gas commodity, ”he said.

He however, noted that in Angola legislation pegs workers’ salaries in dollars and pay them the legal tender equivalent.

He said thisvwas a testament to tte possibilities of safeguarding the interests of workers amidst currency fluctuations.

He added that the floating of the naira in the official market has exacerbated the challenges faced by our workers.

“We must explore innovative solutions to restore financial losses to workers by preventing undue gains to oil companies.

“By ensuring a fair and equitable environment for all,.

” PENGASSAN will do all it can to push for this just and equitable distribution across its branches,”he said.

Osifo while speaking on the theme said it was carefully chosen due the multifaceted challenges and opportunities inherent in the energy sector.

He said this was viz a viz the global energy demand to illuminate the path towards a sustainable energy future for Nigeria and by extension Nigerians.

“Over the next three days, we will engage in enlightening discussions, share insights, and formate strategies to address critical issues such as divestment, PMS subsidy removal and the place/role of the ever ready Nigeria workers in the oil and gas industry and it commitment value chain

“We are witnessing a significant shift in our landscape of the energy in the country, marked by the divestment action of companies such as Mobile producing Nigeria, Nigeria Agip Company SPDC, and others”.

Also, Mr Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the NNPC, said that despite challenges, the country was already witnessing some positive outcome of the subsidy removal.

Kyari said that most construction companies have started moving back to sites as more resources becomes available to execute projects.

According to him, by 2024, Nigeria is going to become a net exporter of refined petroleum products based on ongoing policy interventions by the present administration.

“The meaning of this is that we will have sufficient volumes in-country,

“When we refine locally, we do have advantages.

“That is by creating wealth, creating taxes, and all forms of value chain, creating employment, and so on and so forth,” he said.

He also added that what Nigeria needs today is to adjust our realities. Today, we import 100 per cent of our production.

“No resource-dependent country does this and that is why we must deliver on our mandate,” he said.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has said that there was no basis for the current scarcity and price increase of Premium Motor Spirits (PMS) across the country.

The PENGASSAN President, Mr Festus Osifo and its Secretary General, Mr Lumumba Okugbawa, in a statement on Monday, regretted the hardship that Nigerians were being subjected to as a result of the scarcity and price increase.

The statement said that data made available to the union showed  there was over 30 days PMS sufficiency in the country.

“We understand that the parameters imputed into the old Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and now Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) template has since changed.

“This is because of some economic vagaries such as exchange rate fluctuation, vessel hiring cost and cost of AGO among others.

“However, there is no sufficient justification for petrol to be selling for such highly inflated price, thereby subjecting the masses to further difficulties,“ the duo said.

The duo urged the management of NMDPRA to compel all marketers and retailers to make the products available at the approved price.

Both leaders also called on the management to  immediately mobilise all its staff in various locations across the country to monitor compliance.

The leaders urged the management to revoke the licenses of any marketer who did not comply to serve as deterrent.

“Should this collusion go unchecked, we will not hesitate to partner with other stakeholders in ensuring that Nigerians are not further exploited,“ the leaders said.

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN) has called for proactive measures to curb high rate of oil theft and pipeline vandalism to spur productions in Nigeria.

PENGASSAN President, Mr Festus Osifo, made the call on Wednesday, in Abuja at a news conference heralding its new Advocacy Programme with the theme “Chasing Oil Thieves and Vandals out if Business”.

PENGASSAN’s Awareness Campaign Programme which aims at highlighting evils of oil theft and pipeline vandalism will hold Thursday, Sept. 8, in various zonal locations of the association nationwide.

Osifo, who urged the government to take immediate action on the criminality, threatened that after the association’s  advocacy if no traceable progress was seen, it would be forced to withdraw its workforce.

He expressed worry that Nigeria had been struggling to meet over 1.8 million barrels per day production quota of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) due to challenges occasioned by oil thefts and pipelines vandalism.

He decried the fact that due to this real time challenges a lot of oil companies were shutting productions and folding operations because they lacked sustenance and could not pay salaries.

“Our members are loosing jobs in the service companies. Agip has literally shut down productions , Addax petroleum shut down its OML 124 completely, Total OML 58 has challenges and shut too, while SPDC was one of the worst hit as at today.

“This is the first time in years the crude oil price is hitting the roof and risen astrometrically and crossing hundred dollars per barrel in the international market.

“When you shut in a single barrel, you shut in a hundred dollars, when you shut in 10,000 barrels, you shut in 10,000 multiple by a hundred dollars,” he said.

On this note, he said the association, had earlier engaged the government including, captains of industry, security chiefs and agencies whereby it proffered some solutions to curb the menace.

The president, while listing some recommendations the association proffered to government said it requested for consequent management and advocated sanctions to be put in place for officials in charge.

According to him, the association also advocated the use of latest technologies for pipeline surveillance and control room monitoring being evolved globally especially, in Qatar and Saudi Arabia and others that.

He said it also advocated that three per cent assigned for host communities to be increased to five per cent while local chiefs should be empowered to monitor the channels before intended proactive measures.

He said it equally advised that security chiefs should hold the security officers sent to the creeks in Niger Delta accountable and anyone that derailed or compromised should be punished or sent to prison as deterrent.

According to him, the engagement overtime has not yielded any fruit or results rather the menace continue to bedevil the country.

“After the advocacy rally, our Central Working Committee will appraise the situation after one or two months, if there is no substantial or traceable progress made, the association may be forced to withdraw its workforce from productions.

“Government must wake up, we want to see tangible evidence and results. The rhetoric must stop. This is the time to practicalise the talks, government must develop muscle to tackle the menace, “ he said.