Shell Nigeria has said that the firm and its partners invested over $42.2 million in 2023 to improve the host communities.
This was disclosed by the company’s Communications, Media, and NGO Relations Manager, Bamidele Odugbesan in a statement, according to The Punch.
Odugbesan said that the three Shell firms in Nigeria and their partners spent a total of $42.2 million on direct social initiatives in 2023, a 23 per cent increase from $34.29 million the year before.
He described it as a significant mark-up in efforts by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Gas, as well as their partners, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited; TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited; NAOC and Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd, to promote the socio-economic development of host communities.
He said “The figures, contained in the recently published Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes for 2023, show that the investments were in health, education, road safety and enterprise programmes.”
Meanwhile, 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.
“Since the 1950s, Shell Companies in Nigeria have also supported education through scholarships and other initiatives. In 2023, SPDC, SNEPCo and SNG invested more than $3m in such programmes.”
Shell said recently that the SPDC and SNEPCo made $142m statutory payments to the Niger Delta Development Commission in 2023.
