Mr. Austin Avuru
The MD of Seplat Petroleum Development Limited, Mr Austin Avuru in a paper on “the Challenges of Meeting Up with work Obligations/Performance” at a forum for marginal field awareness organised by the Department of Petroleum Resources, had said that the Marginal fields of Midwestern Oil and Gas/Sun Trust’s Umusadege Field, Pillar Oil’s Umuseti field, Platform/Newcross’ Egbeoma Field and Energia/Oando’ produce 71.6 per cent of the total 30,600 barrels of oil per day.
Mr Avuru who was speaking on the claim of loss of 20% daily production to vandals by oil companies in the country question how such loss may had occurred taking into consideration that such figures is imposed by the multinational companies on the marginal operators. Speaking further the MD of Seplat says this is not possible and this needs to be reviewed, as their findings had shown less than five per cent loss to vandals
Speaking further, the present challenges the marginal operators are now facing is not funding but the imposition of 20% loss to vandals. According to him, it will be easier to declare loss to production deferment and not to vandals, and he calls it measurement errors and extortion.
He also said that the only solution to oil vandals and thieves lies with a policies that will engage host communities as part owners of the assets. To him operators should commit more resources to job creation.
