By Gloria Nwafor 29 October 2022 | 6:01 am Nigeria’s oil production might again suffer further a decline of about 22,000 barrels per day, as workers of Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria have resumed their strike over alleged anti-labour practices. [FILES] Addax Petroleum Nigeria’s oil production might again suffer further a decline of about 22,000 barrels per day, as workers of Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria have resumed their strike over alleged anti-labour practices. The 324 Nigerian employees of the oil firm cited the inability of the Federal Government and management of the company to address their grievances and payment of their exit packages, especially as Addax has commenced plans to exit Nigeria, as part of their reasons for resuming the strike. The striking workers, who are members of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), alleged that since the government withdrew the operating licences from Addax in March 2021 due to the company’s refusal to fully develop the oil wells allocated to it, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited has taken over the assets and has resumed lifting oil products since June 2022. The oil workers, in a statement by PENGASSAN Secretary, Addax Branch, Ken Olubor, appealed to the NNPC to pay their exit packages, stating that Addax had since tidied its exit. Other allegations levelled by the workers include irregular payment of salaries and allowances, stoppage of appraisal performance reward, violation of employment working hour terms and undue elongation of working without compensation, prolonged stagnation and non-promotion since 2019, as well as no appraisal in the year 2022 due to the ongoing impasse. The statement disclosed that China’s Sinopec Group owns Addax with four Oil Mining Licences – OML 123, 124, 126 and 137, which it operates in a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) with the NNPC Limited. The letter read in part: “SINOPEC has withheld funding her Nigeria operation (Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria) following its ongoing exit which has created safety and operational challenges for employees and the much-anticipated operational funding from the NNPC/NAPIMS is yet to be received. “PENGASSAN-Addax Branch has been put in an indeterminate state, as SINOPEC-owned Addax Petroleum Development Nigeria Limited exits and NNPC Limited is slowly assuming responsibility over the operations of the assets. “It is important to mention that NNPC has been taking all the revenue from the OML-123/124 and OML-126/137 Assets since early 2022.” Efforts to get a reaction from Addax were unsuccessful, as calls to the firm were not picked. Latest 4 mins ago The thrill of a precise artillery strike was fading as the Ukrainian defenders of the last village before the invading Russians cowered for safety in the shattered remains of a school. Puffs of smoke revealed where the Russians had suffered their latest losses along the flat and almost completely lifeless terrain of Ukraine’s southern front.… 12 mins ago An intruder attacked the husband of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi with a hammer, fracturing his skull, after breaking into their California home on Friday in search of her. Paul Pelosi was “attacked at home by an assailant who acted with force and threatened his life while demanding to see the speaker,” Pelosi spokesman Drew… 50 mins ago The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), said that prices of selected food items increased in September. This is according to the NBS Selected Food Prices Watch Report for September 2022 released in Abuja on Friday. The report said that the average price of 1kg of Tomato on a year-on-year basis, increased by 30.06 per cent,… 1 hour ago Assailants have stormed Dan Jamfari Community, Barbaji village, in Rogo Local Government Area of Kano State and burnt 10 houses. Executive Secretary, Kano State Emergency Management Agency, Dr Saleh Jili, said on Friday that the agency sympathised with victims and took relief materials to them. He said the state government would leave no stone unturned… 1 hour ago The CANEX WKND 2022 will play host to Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, who is expected to share her experiences as a creative writer. The globally acclaimed author who was recently decorated with Harvard University’s iconic W.E.B. Du Bois Medal will take part in a fireside chat called When Giants Speak. She will be interviewed by the…
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