Blank NEWS Online can reveal that the oil exploration activities of Midwestern Oil and Gas Company has been cut short by aggrieved youths in Utagba-Ogbe, Ndokwa West Local Government Area of Delta State.

The youths of the community were reported to have shut down the flare and drilling rig of the company on Wednesday, September 04, 2013.

Blank NEWS Online investigations proved that six blue chip companies: Midwestern Oil and Gas, Energia, Pillar Gas, Agip, Sterling Global and Platform Petroleum produce “over 159 barrels of crude oil per day from our land, and we lack development, we are not feeling the positive effects of these companies in our community.”

President of Umusadege Youth Forum, Mr Emmanuel Ejechi, said the closure of Midwestern Oil and Gas Company was a signal to other oil companies operating in the area to implement the MoU they signed with the community.

According to Ejechi, “the shutting down of the activities of the oil company has become necessary due to the company’s failure to implement the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the company with the community before it started its operations.

“Every day, we see the oil companies, especially Midwestern Oil trucking crude oil out of Kwale, our farmlands are devastated, the soil can no longer sustain agriculture, our rivers are drying up, and yet the companies do not care about us.”

“The company is not ready for negotiation, we are ready to negotiate with them and we shall continue to be peaceful because, we are peace-loving, we only asked the workers to leave their premises and shut down the place, which they did without any violence,” Mr Ejechi said, adding, “we want development, government should come to our aid and make the oil companies to employ our youths and develop our community.”

Profile of Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited:

Midwestern Oil & Gas Company Limited commenced operations in 2001 and upstream activities in 2005. The Company is owned by the Delta State Government and a group of Nigerian entrepreneurs.

In 2003 the Company was awarded 70% interest in Umusadege Field located in OML 56 which is situated at the northern area of Delta State, Nigeria. Midwestern is the operator of the field in a strategic alliance with Suntrust Oil Company Nigeria Limited and Mart Energy Services Limited.

Sequel to field activities, first oil was achieved by the stakeholders of Umusadege field in April, 2008 at flow rates of around 3,000bopd from re-entry of the Umusadege-1 well. This has been rapidly increased to approximately 15,000bopd through additional development drilling.