Sylva to avert strike threatening Chevron’s 140,000bpd output

By Faizat Adeboye

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has taken steps to avert an impending industrial action at Agbami Offshore Oilfield operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL).

General-Secretary of Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), Mr. Lumumba Okugbawa said this on Wednesday in Yenagoa.

Okugbawa said that Sylva had scheduled a meeting with leadership of the union for Thursday, to find a lasting solution to the industrial disharmony.

PENGASSAN had threatened to down tools and shut down the deep offshore facility over moves by Chevron to cut its workforce by 25 per cent, among other issues.

It would be recalled that CNL had in a statement on October 2, 2020 announced plans to lay off at least 600 of its workforce, a development that irked the in-house branch of PENGASSAN to protest.

CNL’s General Manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Esimaje Brikinn, had in a response statement, noted that the 25 percent job cut was to reposition the oil firm for greater efficiency and competitiveness.

Okugbawa said that, “the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has scheduled a meeting on April 15.

“We are not on strike yet, the Minister of Petroleum, Timipri Sylva, has scheduled a meeting with us for negotiations.

“It is after our meeting with him that we shall agree on the decision for the industrial action.

“By the end of work on Thursday, the outcome of our meeting will be known,” the PENGASSAN scribe said.

Agbami field which has capacity for up to 250,000 barrels per day (bpd) currently produces some 140,000bpd according to industry data.