Gains of an Effective Community Management Framework: The OML26 Experience

Abstract The Oil Mining License (OML) 26 Asset is in Isoko North Local Government Area, about 60km east of Warri in Delta State, an onshore asset in the northern Niger Delta. NPDC and FHN are partners for a joint operation of the mining lease and currently executes its function through an Asset Management Team (AMT), comprising employees of NPDC and FHN. The company (OML 26 JV) entered into a Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMOU) with OML 26 host communities to create an understanding and guide its relationship with the communities. The GMOU did not produced the desired result as OML 26 operations have often been interrupted by Community related issues. There is a lack of mutual trust on both sides and the Community and its agents tend to hold the company to ransom at the slightest opportunity. In a bid to reverse the trend, the AMT took the initiative to step back and assess the root cause of the acrimony, thoroughly engage the right elements within the Community to gauge their perspectives, and then developed a series of initiatives aimed at regaining the trust of the host communities. A framework is being developed that has engendered collaboration with the host communities (within its operating area) to build a mutually beneficial and symbiotic relationship that enables each party to achieve their goals and aspirations albeit in a peaceful, hitch free atmosphere. The AMT in line with the vision of the JV Partners is committed to sustainable community development, human capital development and capacity building, economic empowerment, and infrastructural growth. This paper highlights the key elements of the framework and the engagement strategies that has enabled the AMT to enjoy relative peace and operational stability while ramping up production and executing developmental projects in the communities.