From Tony John, Port Harcourt
Indorama Petrochemicals Limited, Eleme, has denied the allegation that it is among the companies generating hazardous soot in, Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The company stated that it supplies fertilizer to over 32 million farmers in the country, adding that Indorama has been proactive in issues affecting the environment.
Head of Corporate Communications, Indorama, Jossy Nkwocha, made the denial when he briefed journalists during a tour of the company’s facilities, yesterday.
Nkwocha stated that although the company had not been officially accused of emitting soot in the state, it was proper to clear the insinuation at some quarters and give members of the public a clear picture of the company’s operations.
‘We have taken this day to bring journalists from different newspaper houses in Rivers State and at the national, to come and see for themselves the process of our production,’ he stated.
‘We have shown you all our fertilizer operations, all our petrochemical operations and to show that we are an open book and to show you that Indorama operations do not emit any soot whatsoever.
‘We have a closed system and this closed system does not allow any strenuous gas to escape. And as they have explained to us in the control room, we buy this natural from either Agip or TotalEnergies and we don’t allow it to waste by flaring it. So you can see that Indorama does not emit soot or anything in any form.
‘We are being proactive because people are making insinuations. Officially, nobody is accusing us of emitting soot. But, some people are making insinuation and we have the responsibility to explain to the public to clear such insinuation.’
The company commended Governo Nyesom Wike for the steps he had taken in tackling the emission of soot in Rivers.
Nkwocha expressed that ‘Indorama knows we have a capable governor who is handling the soot matter. So, it is not our own responsibility to begin to cast aspersion to anybody. Our governor is handling it very ably. He is an action governor.’
He added that the company has contributed to the economy of the country and created employment opportunities for teeming unemployed Nigerians.
‘We have 7,000 full-time workers and contractors. They come here every day; so, there is the employment of more than 7, 000 persons. If you extrapolate it by their family members and others, you could see the number of persons.
‘We supply fertilizer to about 32 million farmers. We have also told you that we supply UREA to blending plant and each of them may employ about 100 persons. So, Indorama is helping so much in creating jobs.
‘We have two major products: petrochemical and fertilizer. Petrochemicals are the engine room of Nigeria’s industrialisation. Without those things, we will be spending so much money to import petrochemical and because we are producing in Nigeria, the country is saving so much money. So we are doing what they call import substitution.
‘In the area of fertilizer, Nigeria used to import fertilizer worth about N7 billion every year. Today, the fertilizer is coming from Indorama and any other companies that produce fertilizer. But, Indorama has more than 95 per cent of the market of fertilizer in Nigeria.
‘We are also paying dividends to Rivers State Government and the federal government, who are shareholders in Indorama. For the first time, we are the people that have host communities 7.5 per cent of the shares in the company. That is why the host communities don’t block Indorama gate. They also gave 2.4 per cent to Nigeria staff.
‘The government has been doing so much for Indorama. The Federal Government and State Government are supporting Indorama in many diverse ways.’