The three Shell companies in Nigeria and their partners in 2023 spent a total of $42.2 million on direct social investments, according to a statement issued on Tuesday by Communications, Media and NGO Relations Manager, Bamidele Odugbesan.
The statement further stated that this is a 23% increase
compared to the $34.29 million, spent in the previous year.
It clarified that Shell exclusively spent $14.1 million.
According to the statement, this was a significant mark-up
in efforts by The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC,)
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) Shell Nigeria Gas
(SNG) as well as their partners.
“Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC);
TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited; NAOC and Esso Exploration and Production
Nigeria Ltd – to promote the socio-economic development of host communities.
According to the statement, 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.
It added that SPDC and SNEPCo made $142 million in statutory payments to the
Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) in 2023 alone.
The 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.”
The statement added that 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 $3 million in
such programmes.