JTF in talks with Shell, communities over closure of flow station

A reconciliatory talks between Shell and its four host communities in Ogbia, Bayelsa State over the shutdown of Kolo Creek flow station is underway.
Major-General Emmanuel Atewe, Commander of the Joint Task Force (JTF, Operation Pulo Shield), summoned the parties on Friday when he visited the flow station.
The four host communities, which shutdown the Shell facility on Monday are Imiringi, Otuasega, Oruma and Elebele, all in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state.
In shutting down the facility, the communities also suspended oil and gas production, locked up the facility and sacked the oil workers.
Atewe had visited the facility and tried to compel the communities to reopen and vacate the flow station to enable the workers to resume production, but the communities refused to shift ground.
Some members of the communities, who responded, told the JTF commander that the officials of Shell had remained adamant in fulfilling the company’s social obligation to the communities.
According to them, the obligations are captured in a subsisting Memorandum of Understanding between the communities and Shell.
Chief Innocent Afagha, a landlord to Shell at Imiringi, however pledged to give JTF a chance to make peace.
An effort to get the spokesman for Shell, Mr Joseph Obari, to comment on the development was unsuccessful as he declined a request for comments.
On Saturday, the Kolo Creek flow station remained closed, while the meeting was ongoing at the headquarters of the JTF in Yenagoa.