Business
Shell emerges best CSR innovation company at 2015 SERA’s
By Yemie ADEOYE
LAGOS-SHELL companies in Nigeria have emerged the best in Corporate Social Responsibility Innovation, and also the best in Sustainabl
L-R: Vice President Human Resources of Shell in Nigeria and sub-saharan Africa, Mr. Olukayode Ogunleye;Development Manager, Offshore Assets, Mrs. Beatrice Spaine; General Manager External Relations, Mr. Igo Weli; Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Mr. Bayo Ojulari, at the Social Enterprise Report and Awards ceremony in Lagos recently
e Stakeholder Engagement at the 2015 edition of the Social Enterprise Report and Awards (SERAs) held in Lagos on Friday. In addition, Dr. Uwem Ite, of The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC), was named Nigeria’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Practitioner of the year. The awards aim to recognise corporate bodies who invest in society through CSR programmes.
Reacting to the awards, Managing Director of SPDC and Country Chair, Shell Companies in Nigeria, Mr. Osagie Okunbor, said, “While the SERAs and other awards encourage us and our Partners on our CSR programmes, the real encouragement for us are the lives that have been transformed through these initiatives, which is why we will continue to implement the programmes as part of our business in Nigeria.”
Shell companies in Nigeria were among 62 corporate bodies assessed by a panel of experts drawn from the United Kingdom, the United States and Nigeria. The panel based their assessment on the outcome of field visits and verification of data. For the CSR Innovation award, Shell (along with its Joint Venture partners, NNPC, Total and Agip) was lauded for the support of students of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, University of Benin and University of Lagos to build energy-efficient cars for the Shell Eco-marathon competition in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The support also enabled the University of Benin students to race at a similar competition in South Africa in 2014 where their car, TukeTuke, won the best designed car award.
Shell won the Sustainable Stakeholder Engagement award mainly for the introduction of the Global Memorandum of Understanding (GMoU) model in 2006. Agreements for 40 GMoU clusters covering 387 communities in the Niger Delta had been signed as at the end of 2014. In naming Dr. Ite as CSR Practitioner of the year, the panelists recognised his pioneering contributions to corporate social responsibility. Shell was nominated in a total of nine categories – Poverty Reduction, Community Involvement, Health Intervention, Partnership for Development, Labour Practices, and Sustainability Reporting.
Bayo Ojulari, Managing Director, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, who received the awards said: “The recognition through the SERAs represents a vote of confidence in our efforts to help improve lives in the Niger Delta and Nigeria. Shell has been operating in Nigeria for more 50 years and began their CSR intervention in Nigeria with a scholarship programme well before Nigeria attained independence in 1960. The awards are a challenge for more innovation which Shell and its partners will continue to strive to meet.”
Shell has won the SERAs in many categories since they were instituted in 2006. Every year, Shell Companies in Nigeria undertake various social investment projects, focusing on community and enterprise development, education and health. Much of this is done in partnership with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). In 2014 alone, Shell-operated ventures contributed $202 million to the NDDC as required by law. Some $112 million was directly invested by the SPDC JV and SNEPCo in social investment projects. Collectively, this makes Nigeria the largest concentration of social investment spending in the Shell Group
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte, the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arm of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), has won the CSR Champion Award (Health) 2025 instituted by the Independent Newspapers.
Biztellers reports that the award was presented during the Silver Jubilee edition of the Independent Newspapers Awards, themed “Game Changers: Breaking Barriers and Shaping Tomorrow,” held at Eko Hotel and Suites on Saturday, 18 April 2026.
The CSR Champion Award (Health) recognises the Foundation’s work in healthcare and its broader commitment to improving lives through social investment programmes spanning health, education, environment, and access to energy.Primary & Secondary Schooling (K-12)
The recognition follows a series of health initiatives delivered by the Foundation, including free cataract screening and surgeries that restored sight to over 6,000 Nigerians, including minors born blind; cancer and glaucoma interventions; medical outreaches to underserved communities; renovation and furnishing of three wards with 100 beds at the National Orthopaedic Hospital, Igbobi; partnership and sponsorship of heart surgeries; and provision of dental health accessories to children in special schools, among others.
The NNPC Foundation noted that these results were made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose commitment has continued to strengthen the Foundation’s capacity to deliver social investments across the country.
Reacting to the award, the Managing Director of NNPC Foundation, Emmanuella Arukwe, described the recognition as a validation of the Foundation’s work and the trust placed in it by Nigerians. She noted that the award means so much to the company because it represents the confidence Nigerians have placed in its work and the value they see in purposeful social investment.
“It speaks to the resilience of the communities we serve, the dedication of our team, and the strength of partnerships that have enabled us to do meaningful work in health, education, environmental sustainability and access to energy,” she added.
In addition, Arukwe noted that “these results have also been made possible through the leadership and support of the NNPC Ltd. Management team, whose backing has been instrumental to the success of the Foundation’s work. We receive this award with gratitude, and with a renewed sense of responsibility to do more and reach further across the country.”
The NNPC Foundation Limited/Gte remains committed to advancing health interventions that improve outcomes and contribute to national development.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), through its Research, Technology and Innovation (RTI) Division, in collaboration with the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Sonatrach, the Algerian National Oil Company, for cooperation in research, development, and innovation.
The agreement, signed by NNPC Ltd’s Executive Vice President, Business Services, Sophia Mbakwe, and Sonatrach’s Managing Director, Khodjah Mohamed, establishes a formal framework for joint work in research and technology exchange between the two national oil companies.
This was contained in the press statement issued on Thursday by Chief Corporate Communications Officer Mr. Andy Odeh.
According to the statement, the agreement, held during the opening ceremony of the 3rd Meeting of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organization (APPO) Forum for R&D Directors at the PTDF Tower in Abuja, Nigeria, brought together research and development directors from APPO member countries.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, represented by former Secretary General of APPO, Omar Farouk Ibrahim, said the forum was one of four measures introduced by APPO to address challenges from the global energy transition, which center on funding, technology, and markets.
“The R&D forum tackles technology and expertise needs, the African Energy Bank addresses funding constraints, and the Central African Pipeline System supports regional oil and gas market integration,” Lokpobiri stated.
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Earlier in his remarks, Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, represented by the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Adedapo Segun, said research and development must form a central part of the overall strategy in the African oil and gas industry.
He called for research and development centres to function as engines of industrial competitiveness. “Collaboration in research and development is of strategic importance. The cost of innovation might be high, but the cost of obsolescence would be greater,” he stressed.
Ojulari called for a unified strategic framework through which resources could be pooled, data integrated, and risks shared across member countries.
He further urged the rapid adoption of digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and advanced engineering to improve upstream, midstream, and downstream operations.
On his part, the APPO Secretary General, Farid Ghezali, urged African petroleum-producing countries to ensure research in the oil and gas sector produced solutions that are practical and directly relevant to the continent. “We must ensure that our research delivers solutions that are practical and of direct use to Africa,” he stated.
Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Prof. Shu’aibu Shehu Aliyu, highlighted the value of the partnership between NNPC Limited and PTDF in supporting decarbonization and environmental protection efforts across APPO member countries.
Chief Innovation Officer of NNPC Research, Technology and Innovation and incoming Chairman of the APPO R&D Directors Forum, Rasheed Ojulari, said the forum would give immediate priority to joint programs in the core areas of upstream optimization, artificial intelligence, decarbonisation processes, and industrial systems development.
The Nigerian Gas Association (NGA), has opined that a predictable fiscal and regulatory environment are ingredients essential to de-risking investments and accelerating project delivery in the oil and gas sector.
This was detailed in a statement released by NGA at the end of its maiden Legal Forum emphasised that investor confidence will be shaped by the robustness of commercial and contractual structures across the gas value chain, strengthened contractual clarity, and efficient dispute resolution mechanisms.
In his opening address, President of the NGA, Aka Nwokedi, underscored the urgency of aligning Nigeria’s legal architecture with its strategic gas ambitions, noting that the sector’s next phase of growth will be defined by the strength, clarity, and credibility of its regulatory environment.
“Nigeria’s gas resources present a defining opportunity for economic transformation, but realising this potential will depend on building a legal framework that is transparent, predictable, and globally competitive”, he stated.
Discussions throughout the Forum reflected a clear and consistent theme: that Nigeria’s opportunity now lies in execution.
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While the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has established a transformative foundation for sector reform, participants emphasised that its true impact will be determined by disciplined implementation, regulatory coherence, and institutional alignment.
The need to eliminate ambiguity and strengthen enforcement emerged as central to unlocking sustained investment.
As global energy systems continue to evolve, the Forum reinforced natural gas as Nigeria’s most strategic lever for balancing economic growth, energy security, and emissions reduction. Participants highlighted that legal and regulatory frameworks must evolve accordingly, moving beyond policy intent to embed clear, enforceable standards on carbon management, ESG obligations, and sustainability.
“In an increasingly competitive global market, such clarity will be critical in attracting long-term capital.”
The Forum also acknowledged the policy direction of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in advancing gas development through infrastructure expansion and increased domestic utilisation.
Stakeholders noted that sustained policy stability will serve as a critical signal to both domestic and international investors evaluating long-term opportunities in Nigeria’s gas sector.
Beyond its technical depth, the NGA Legal Forum marked an important step in bridging the longstanding gap between legal frameworks and industry realities, creating a structured platform for continuous engagement, practical alignment, and forward-looking policy development.
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