LIVE UPDATES
The Communications, Media and NGO Relations Manager, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), Mr. Bamidele Odugbesan, has announced that Shell companies in Nigeria and their partners spent a total of $42.2 million in 2023 on direct social investments.
Odugbesan said in a statement that the amount was a 23 per cent increase compared to the $34.29 million spent in the previous year.
The statement clarified that Shell exclusively spent $14.1 million.
According to the statement, this is a significant mark-up in efforts by the SPDC, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Shell Nigeria Gas (SNG) as well as their partners: the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC); TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited; Nigeria Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd – to promote the socio-economic development of host communities.
"The figures contained in the recently published Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes for 2023, showed that the investments were in health, education, road safety and enterprise programmes. The SPDC and SNEPCo made $142 million in statutory payments to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2023 alone."
The SPDC Director and Country Head, Corporate Relations, Igo Weli, said: “Our vision for the Niger Delta is for our people to take advantage of these and other investments to improve their lives.
“This is why we support communities to develop their capacities for need assessment and project planning and execution. Our aim is to contribute to the sustainable development of the region through collaboration with all stakeholders.”
He added that since the 1950s, Shell companies in Nigeria had also supported education through scholarships and other initiatives, noting that in 2023, SPDC, SNEPCo and SNG invested more than $3 million in such programmes.
