talk of sabotage

[lynx@gn.apc.org]

  >From Nigeria Today, 22.8.97
  
  
  SHELL SAYS OIL SABOTAGE ON THE INCREASE
  
  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 Shell. General
  Manager of Shell's Western Division in Nigeria, Joshua Udofia,  yesterday
  said 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
  the media. ``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. 
  
  
  
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  nick jukes    (lynx@gn.apc.org)