News Highlights - October 22-23, 1997

[stephen.mills@sfsierra.sierraclub.org]

  News Highlights (Thursday  October 23)
   
  SHELL THREATENS TO STOP OPERATIONS IN NIGER DELTA
  The Western Division of Shell Pet. Dev. Co.  has threatened to stop 
  exploration and exploitation of oil in the Niger Delta if youths in its 
  areas of operations continue to attack its facilities and personnel. The 
  threat is coming four months after SPDC told the Justice Alhassan 
  Idoko's Judicial Commissions of Inquiry which looked into the Warri 
  crisis that Nigeria lost about N3 billion in oil exploration when her 
  activities were disrupted at some of its flowstations in the Niger 
  Delta. In  a letter, dated 8th October, 1997 to the Chairman of the 
  Military Task Force on Warri Crisis, and signed by Mr. A. D. Aramabi, 
  Manager External Relations - West, the company said: "We wish to bring 
  to your attention the numerous incidents of threats in which various 
  community youths sometimes armed with automatic guns extort money, or 
  seize/hijack and/or take hostages of personnel and equipment in our 
  swamp operations from March this year to date." SPDC stated that the 
  incidents have been increasing in number and that it was "needless to 
  say that their continued disturbances of our operations will greatly 
  interfere with our ability to produce oil which is the mainstay of the 
  nation's economy."
   
   
  MOBIL TO LOBBY AGAINST FRESH U.S. SANCTIONS ON NIGERIA
  Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, has pledged to frustrate fresh moves 
  by the Clinton administration to sanction the country. Its Managing 
  Director, Mr. Paul Caldwell, disclosed this while addressing Course Six 
  participants of the National War College, Abuja, who visited the 
  company's oil installations in Akwa Ibom State. Caldwell explained that 
  the company would assist Nigeria in resolving its diplomatic row with 
  the U.S. He assured that Mobil has the influence to ask the U.S. 
  government to forget about its proposed sanctions against Nigeria. 
  Caldwell, a member of the Vision 2010 Committee, contended that 
  sanctions "don't work."
  
   
  AMERICA'S STAND ON NIGERIA REMAINS, SAYS ENVOY
  There will be no significant change in all existing measures and 
  sanctions imposed against Nigeria by the United States until 
  improvements are noticed to justify a change, the U.S. 
  Ambassador-designate to Nigeria, Mr. William H. Twaddell, has said. 
  Giving a testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 
  preparatory to his approval as ambassador on Tuesday, he said: "Our 
  commitment to promoting human rights and democracy in Nigeria is well 
  known and will not change."