Shell’s oil wells shut down in Bayelsa by community

Some members of a community in Bayelsa have disrupted oil production at Adibawa oil-field operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC).

A reliable source, who pleaded anonymity, on Wednesday, said the protesters were from Tanbiri II, Biseni in Yenagoa, who demanded power supply from the nearby oil facility. The two oil wells, Adibawa well 4 and Adibawa well 10, feeding the Adibawa flow station, were shut down by the protesters.

Entrepreneurtv.ng gathered that hundreds of residents comprising youths, women and elders blocked access road to the shut oil wells, singing solidarity songs amidst songs from local musical instruments.

According to Oyeso Atena, the Youth President of Biseni community, they were aggrieved by the inability of SPDC to link the community to a power plant located at Adibawa flow station, in spite of several meetings.

“We took the step as a last resort following several talks; the oil firm had given us hope, but they later backed out by telling us that the transmission line to our community was not strong enough and could not carry the power.

“We have several oil wells here and merely shutting two of them has put the entire Adibawa flow station out of action and that shows that without the oil wells from here, the flow station cannot fire and we are just asking that they should give us electricity from that facility.

“We are not asking for too much from a company that has operated here since 1972 and there is no history of hostage taking, no attack on oil workers and no incident of vandalism of facilities. Our expectation is that they reciprocate our peaceful dispositions and not to take our peaceful nature for weakness, we have vowed to remain here until they respond to us” the youth leader said.