PRESS RELEASE
25 November 2022, Yenagoa, Nigeria: The OML 83 and 85 NNPC/FIRST E&P Joint Venture (the ‘JV’ ) has donated relief materials worth N170Million Naira to some communities affected by the recent devastating floods in Bayelsa.
The handover of the relief materials was made at an event held at Danielle Jetty, Oxbow in Yenagoa. The relief materials were officially presented on behalf of the JV by Ayebatonye Benjamin Basuo, FIRST E&P Head, Social Performance. The materials were received on behalf of the beneficiary communities by leaders of Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camps from across Bayelsa state. Other guests in attendance at the handover ceremony included representatives of the Bayelsa State Government and the Ministry of Mineral Resources.
Over 24,000 internally displaced persons whose homes and farms were submerged by floods are expected to receive the relief materials. The donations by the JV will help alleviate hardship from the flood disaster across 48 IDP camps. Items presented as part of the donation included foodstuff, water and other hygiene products.
In her remarks at the handover event, Ayebatonye Benjamin Basuo said, “our thoughts and prayers have continued to be with all who have been affected by the flooding experienced across the nation in the last few weeks. We understand how difficult it must have been for people to be displaced from their homes and to see their sources of livelihood adversely impacted.” She went on to say that, “at FIRST E&P, we seek to always ensure that through our social performance strategy, our stakeholder communities benefit from our presence on a sustainable basis. We drive this through flagship community development programs which cover interventions in the areas of educational, health, infrastructural and human capital development. However, when unprecedented disasters like the recent flood occur, we also seek ways in which we can intervene to make a positive impact.”
Speaking at the event, Mr Ibiere Jones, Bayelsa Commissioner for Mineral Resources applauded the JV for showing concern and empathy to people of Bayelsa beyond their immediate host communities, describing the approach as impactful.
“I want to say that the approach adopted by the NNPC/FIRST E&P Joint Venture is novel, they thought outside the box by using the IDP camps as points of contact and unlike other companies who come into the state and go to the communities and give out items without the knowledge of the government, they duely informed the government, and that shows that they are indeed a partner.
“From what I can see, the value of this intervention is huge, and being a wholly indigenous company owned by Nigerians, it is very pleasant,” Jones said.
On hand to receive the relief items were representatives of over 40 identified internally displaced persons camps. Reacting to the donation, Mrs Charity Godwin recalled the ordeals of the flood and expressed gratitude to the JV for identifying with the people of Bayelsa.
DSP Konyeifa Austin, from Mechanic Road camp Yenagoa recalled that most displaced people were also victims as criminals made away with valuables they left behind. He said that the items would ameliorate the sufferings faced by the people as the flood recedes.
ABOUT FIRST E&P
FIRST E&P is a leading independent Exploration and Production (E&P) company with maximum delivery capacity across the upstream oil and gas value chain, including drilling, well completion, well testing, and production operations.
Established in 2011, the company officially commenced operations in 2012, achieved first oil production from the Anyala field in OML 83 on October 21, 2020 and recorded its first export lifting on January 10, 2021. The company currently produces over 40,000 bbl/d and remains focused on growing its daily production to 60,000 bbl/d. For more information, please visit our website https://first-epdc.com
