Shell says...

[Robert Cotter <rcotter@mindspring.com>]

  20/8/97 NIGERIA:     REUTERS NEWS SERVICE
  
   SHELL SAYS NIGERIAN OIL SABOTAGE ON THE RISE.
  
  By Matthew Tostevin
  
  WARRI, Nigeria, Aug 20 (Reuter) - Activist agitation and sabotage by
  villagers in pursuit of quick cash are on the rise in the impoverished
  Niger
  Delta where Nigeria pumps most of its crude oil, according to the
  regional
  manager of oil giant Royal Dutch/Shell.
  
  Joshua Udofia, General Manager of Shell's Western Division in Nigeria
  said on
  Tuesday that 2,000 barrels of oil escaped in the latest act of sabotage,
  and
  activists were soon on the scene to point at Shell as an agent of
  environmental damage.
  
  "The numbers are definitely on the rise, and there have been four major
  incidents in this area this year alone," Udofia told Reuters.
  
  "Sabotage in most cases is related to compensation. In this case the
  community wanted to discuss payment before we could shut the valve and
  stop
  polluting the environment, and then we will have to pay local people to
  clean
  up the spilled oil."
  
  The incident at Obrigbene highlights the vulnerability of oil
  installations
  in the swampy Delta, where wellheads, flowstations and pipes are spread
  between thousands of communities.
  
  Shell says that at some time on August 12 someone cut their way through
  the
  cage around the Obrigbene manifold and opened a safety valve. On this
  occasion the loss was minimal, but almost 100,000 barrels of crude per
  day
  pass through the manifold which was protected only by a wire cage.
  
  With production costs of around $2.00 a barrel for crude oil, much
  cheaper
  than offshore or in other parts of the world, extracting oil in the
  Niger
  Delta is a lucrative business whatever the risks.
  
  But residents of scruffy fishing villages, packed with barefoot kids and
  unemployed youths, say that apart from the odd hospital or school they
  have
  little to show from either the Nigerian government or oil companies for
  the
  millions of dollars a day which are pumped through their backyards.
  
  At least 1,000 people, mostly youths, joined a rally in the remote Niger
  Delta village of Aleibri at the weekend, to protest against oil
  companies and
  call for a better deal. They demanded dialogue, but made veiled threats
  of
  violence.
  
  "We believe in talking to the people on the ground. The pressure groups
  have
  not approached us," said Udofia. "I can't say what they are trying to
  whip
  up".
  
  Relations with the Ogoni tribe turned into a publicity nightmare for
  Shell in
  1995 after author Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists were hanged
  for
  murder. Campaigners said Shell should have pushed Nigeria's military
  rulers
  to stop the executions.
  
  Privately industry officials admit that the threat from the millions of
  ethnic Ijaws, behind the bulk of the recent incidents, is vastly greater
  than
  from the 500,000 strong Ogonis.
  
  Tension already runs high since the killing of scores of people in
  clashes
  this year between Ijaws and rival tribesmen.
  
  And since Ogoni, Shell has also become wary of appearing to rely too
  heavily
  on often unpopular local security forces.
  
  "The operations are so widespread we have to have good relations with
  the
  community and we have made it a policy that we do not want guns around
  our
  installations," said Udofia.
  
  "I won't say we are 100 percent successful or unsuccessful in our
  relations.
  There is progress in some areas."
  
  Shell pumps around half the two million barrels of crude oil per day on
  which
  Africa's most populous nation of more than 100 million people depends
  for at
  least 90 percent of export revenue.
  
  Most of Shell's oil is produced onshore, making it an easy target for
  the
  restive communities, unlike the other oil companies which have most of
  their
  operations offshore.