Breakthrough for Belema Sweet Terminal project as host communities endorse EIA report, urge for quick start of work

The 17 host communities that may be impacted by the new oil export terminal coming up in Rivers State, the Belema Sweet Terminal, have endorsed an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report unveiled in Port Harcourt on Friday, August 8, 2025.

The communities are all in Kula in Akuku-Toru local council area of Rivers State, some lying close to the mouth of the river that empties into the Atlantic Ocean.

After the presentation of the Report by Aina Adeogun, a professor, the team lead of the consultants, the host community leaders took turns to endorse the report, while also asking for various amenities.

The monarchs, chiefs, and community leaders that gave support for the EIA include Kroma Eleki (king and Sara X1V), Stanley Benibo Gold Ekeke (the Amanyanabo of Ibiama/Agudama community), Anabs Sara-Igbe (a high chief), and Ibiosiya Nath-Sukubo (spokesman of Ofoinama kingdom). Others were women leaders and other community opinion leaders who said the project was welcome.

The king, Eleki, said there was need to kickstart the project because their son, Jackrich Tein jnr, the founder of Belemaoil, owners of Belema Sweet Terminal, has so far suffered much in trying to bring investments and development to Kula. He however said request for a road was good but that before that, it would be good to focus on improving water transportation to Kula by securing the waterways.

Opening the floor of the community support and requests, Sara-Igbe described the terminal as a Kula project deserving the support of the Kula people. He appealed for health centres, schools, water supply, and erosion control.

The other monarch, Benibo Gold Ekeke, called on the Federal Ministry of Environment to expedite action on the EIA process so the project could kickstart.

Nath-Sukubo, youth leader and spokesman of Offoinama, made it clear that the community had already endorsed the establishment of the terminal. He however said Kula is in dire need of power supply, calling on Belemaoil to take the issue of power supply very seriously. “Please use projects to compensate the communities because they have suffered environmental degradation over the years.”

The community people urged the Federal Ministry to kindly approve the EIA Report so work could start.

Shittu Hussain, who represented the Minister of Environment, in his opening remarks, said he noticed that the communities were already excited and supportive. He also said he noticed a different air in the project sponsor, Belemaoil, as different from the air they were used to when older oil majors were involved.

Agbagwa Ikechukwu, a professor and chairman of the EIA Presentation exercise, said the fears when a community company took over the projects have been allayed.

The main report said Robert Kiri is the central processing location of the Terminal which seeks to replace the Nembe Trunk Pipeline delivering crude to Bonny terminal.

Reacting in an interview to the overwhelming endorsement of the 17 communities, Collins Amadi, and engineer and vice president of Belemaoil, said it was sign that the company had impacted the communities all along. “We have been interacting with them over the years and they have come to know our capacity. From our value chain, we take them along. You can see the mammoth crowd. Every community we have impacted is here.”

On what next after the EIA sessions, he said if it gets approved, the next step is to begin to work the plan. “This means we talk with our project consultant and tell them to slate the work by creating a schedule.

“You could hear when they were asking many questions such as logistics etc. The project has not started. When it does, we schedule all those things. When the first schedule comes out, everywhere that will be impacted will be involved. We lay all things open.”

Also speaking in an interview, Abel Jumbo, the Corporate Affairs Manager of Belemaoil, said the communities were well aware of the operational methods of the company. He said the communities knew that Belemaoil could be trusted to do what it promised.