The recent ceasefire by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), was yesterday threatened, following a alleged air raids by operatives of the Joint Military Taskforce on the camps of two militia groups, the Niger Delta Patriotic Force (NDPF) and the Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV).
This is coming few hours after the leadership of the Action Congress (AC) in Rivers State urged Nigerians to pray for the ceasefire called by MEND to be permanent, so as to allow for the continuation of on-going projects across the oil and gas region.
An online statement issued yesterday and signed by MEND spokesman Gbomo Jomo, and made available to Daily Champion alleged that an air raid was carried out by the Air Force arm of the JTF, saying it may provoke other militia groups into engaging in another 'unprecedented war along the creeks and waterways of the region."
The statement read in part: "About 1730 Hrs on Tuesday, September 23, 2008, the Nigerian military still seething with anger from the humiliating defeat in the six-day oil war, launched an unprovoked air assault on the camps of the Niger Delta Patriotic Force (NDPF) and Niger Delta Vigilante (NDV) in an attempt to destabilize the on-going ceasefire.
"The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) condemns this cowardly act and will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating and putting the peace process in jeopardy at this time. It is a well known fact that the Joint Task "Fraud" (JTF) is desperate to showcase its relevance as they will be quickly out of business in an atmosphere of peace.
"Like their cousins the Nigeria Police who stage spates of robberies whenever there is a public outcry for the removal of check points on the road, the military stages such attacks to hoodwink the state governors for additional funding. We also suspect that a peaceful Niger Delta is not beneficial to a section of the country who may want to alter the constitution again in the event that the President may resign due to his ailing health".
"Tropical Storm Vigilant, our heightened state of alert, is still on course and the military and oil companies will soon be hearing from us at the appropriate time. MEND can not vouch for the actions this group may take. We will however use this medium to notify the public on developments as they unfold".
But the Rivers State chapter of the AC through its publicity secretary, Chief Eze Chukwuemeka Eze, prayed that the ceasefire called by MEND lasts longer for the region to witness growth.
He said "We just pray that this cease-fire becomes permanent as no meaningful development can take place in war-like situation as the Niger Delta region has been turned into recently.
"With this development, the Federal Government has no further reason to delay moving the relevant machinery and personnel to Niger Delta to hasten the development of a region so wickedly neglected by the past Governments at the centre and the region.
"Julius Berger Plc should commence work immediately on its abandoned projects particularly the dualisation of East-West road that has become a death trap and the fly-over construction at Eleme Junction that means a lot to the people of Rivers State."
He said the period of peace should be used by the government to intensify job creation, revamping and reviving of our moribund industries, improving on our decaying infrastructure and showing signs that Rivers State belongs to all sons and daughters of Rivers State."
(Daily Champion)
Thursday, September 25, 2008
NUPENG Threatens Strike Against Chevron
A local branch of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, or NUPENG, in Nigeria said Wednesday it would begin a strike at Chevron Nigeria Ltd. - a local unit of U.S. oil major Chevron Corp. (CVX) - if the company failed to resolve some labor issues by Oct. 1.
Bernard Ugbi, NUPENG's assistant general secretary in the southern oil city of Warri, said Chevron has been given a 14-day ultimatum to resolve issues on union workers hired and working at all CNL locations in the country as contractors.
He said NUPENG opposed the employment of its members as contractors, adding that the 3,000-5,000 workers involved usually don't qualify for pension, gratuities and other benefits.
He said the contractors were doing the same work as permanent Chevron staff who qualified for pension and other benefits adding: "We want the same for the contract workers."
Ugbi said NUPENG at the national level would join any strike launched by the Warri chapter.
CNL said it was engaging with all parties to resolve the issues through dialogue and respect for rule of law.
A Chevron spokesman in Nigeria contacted by Dow Jones declined to comment further.
(CNNMoney.com)
Bernard Ugbi, NUPENG's assistant general secretary in the southern oil city of Warri, said Chevron has been given a 14-day ultimatum to resolve issues on union workers hired and working at all CNL locations in the country as contractors.
He said NUPENG opposed the employment of its members as contractors, adding that the 3,000-5,000 workers involved usually don't qualify for pension, gratuities and other benefits.
He said the contractors were doing the same work as permanent Chevron staff who qualified for pension and other benefits adding: "We want the same for the contract workers."
Ugbi said NUPENG at the national level would join any strike launched by the Warri chapter.
CNL said it was engaging with all parties to resolve the issues through dialogue and respect for rule of law.
A Chevron spokesman in Nigeria contacted by Dow Jones declined to comment further.
(CNNMoney.com)
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
MEND Decries Government Attacks
Nigeria's main oil militant group has accused the army of launching air attacks on its allies' camps.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) declared a unilateral ceasefire three days ago.
A Nigerian army spokesman told the BBC that he was unaware of any air strikes on Tuesday.
Mend said it would not be drawn by military tactics into jeopardising the peace process and would continue observing its ceasefire.
Groups such as Mend claim to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in the impoverished Niger Delta, but they are accused of making money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.
Threat to end truce
Mend said camps belonging to the Niger Delta Patriotic Force and the Niger Delta Vigilante had been targeted in the attacks.
Mend will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating.
Militant statement
Earlier in the month, the militants had declared "war" on Nigeria's oil industry after a fierce military raid on one of their bases.
Mend declared a ceasefire after appeals from local leaders, but it warned it would end the truce if attacked by the army again.
"Mend will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating and putting the peace process in jeopardy at this time," the group said in an e-mailed statement, Reuters news agency reports.
Recent violence has been the worst in two years and on Saturday oil giant Shell was forced to declare a "force majeure" - which frees it from contractual obligations - on crude oil shipments from its Niger Delta facilities.
Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% because of unrest in the region over the past few years.
When President Umaru Yar'Adua came to power last year he promised to tackle the problems of the Niger Delta.
Recently, his government announced that a new ministry would be formed to deal with the crisis.
A Niger Delta minister is expected to be appointed this week when the president unveils his new cabinet.
(BBC)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) declared a unilateral ceasefire three days ago.
A Nigerian army spokesman told the BBC that he was unaware of any air strikes on Tuesday.
Mend said it would not be drawn by military tactics into jeopardising the peace process and would continue observing its ceasefire.
Groups such as Mend claim to be fighting for greater control over oil wealth in the impoverished Niger Delta, but they are accused of making money from criminal rackets and trade in stolen oil.
Threat to end truce
Mend said camps belonging to the Niger Delta Patriotic Force and the Niger Delta Vigilante had been targeted in the attacks.
Mend will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating.
Militant statement
Earlier in the month, the militants had declared "war" on Nigeria's oil industry after a fierce military raid on one of their bases.
Mend declared a ceasefire after appeals from local leaders, but it warned it would end the truce if attacked by the army again.
"Mend will not play into the hands of the military by retaliating and putting the peace process in jeopardy at this time," the group said in an e-mailed statement, Reuters news agency reports.
Recent violence has been the worst in two years and on Saturday oil giant Shell was forced to declare a "force majeure" - which frees it from contractual obligations - on crude oil shipments from its Niger Delta facilities.
Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% because of unrest in the region over the past few years.
When President Umaru Yar'Adua came to power last year he promised to tackle the problems of the Niger Delta.
Recently, his government announced that a new ministry would be formed to deal with the crisis.
A Niger Delta minister is expected to be appointed this week when the president unveils his new cabinet.
(BBC)
Andrew Berends Update
For an update on Andrew Berends, the independent film producer arrested in Nigeria earlier this month, check out http://www.thefilmpanelnotetaker.com/2008/09/latest-update-from-andrew-berends.html
Suspected Militants Arrested at PH
The Joint Task Force (JTF) in Rivers State has arrested 219 suspected militants during an early morning raid on notorious water front settlements used by militants as hide-outs in Port-Harcourt, the state capital.
Brig. Gen. Bello Sarkin Yaki, the JTF commander in Rivers State disclosed this yesterday, during an interactive session with journalists. The arrests are coming on the heels of the unilateral ceasefire declared by militants on Sunday, in the state after a week of gun fights between the military and militants during which the military commander confirmed seven militants were
killed.
He said the suspected militants were arrested at Abonema, Diobu, UTC, Njemanze, Afikpo, Nnaka, Timber Market and Ekuele water fronts in Port-Harcourt, adding that the dawn raid was carried out based on intelligence reports available to the special military task force. Bello said the suspects, who were arrested in what he described as known "bad spots" have been handed over to the police for prosecution.
Our correspondent reports that the pre-emptive move by the military task force is to thwart attempts by militants, alleged to be re-grouping in various parts of Port-Harcourt, preparatory to unleashing a reign of violence and terror on innocent citizens, having been dislodged from the creeks by the military.
While reinstating the preparedness of the JTF to continue its clamp down on known bases and other spots used by militants to perpetuate their activities, he assured that the military task force is committed to restoring law and order to Rivers State.
The JTF commander said 99.9 per cent of the camps operated by militants in the state have been identified by the special military unit, saying, "We know where they are and they are at our finger tips".
On the truce declared by the militants, Brig. Gen. Bello said while the military top brass in the country welcome the development, the ceasefire, he however explained, would not prevent the JTF from discharging its responsibility of maintaining security in all parts of the state, whether on land or water.
He, therefore, advised the militants to go beyond the ceasefire and lay down their arms and explore peaceful alternatives to channel their demands to the Federal Government. Bello dismissed insinuations that the military killed civilians and attacked civilian habitations during the clashes with militants in the state, adding that the JTF has rules of engagement and a code of conduct that guides its operations.
(AllAfrica)
Brig. Gen. Bello Sarkin Yaki, the JTF commander in Rivers State disclosed this yesterday, during an interactive session with journalists. The arrests are coming on the heels of the unilateral ceasefire declared by militants on Sunday, in the state after a week of gun fights between the military and militants during which the military commander confirmed seven militants were
killed.
He said the suspected militants were arrested at Abonema, Diobu, UTC, Njemanze, Afikpo, Nnaka, Timber Market and Ekuele water fronts in Port-Harcourt, adding that the dawn raid was carried out based on intelligence reports available to the special military task force. Bello said the suspects, who were arrested in what he described as known "bad spots" have been handed over to the police for prosecution.
Our correspondent reports that the pre-emptive move by the military task force is to thwart attempts by militants, alleged to be re-grouping in various parts of Port-Harcourt, preparatory to unleashing a reign of violence and terror on innocent citizens, having been dislodged from the creeks by the military.
While reinstating the preparedness of the JTF to continue its clamp down on known bases and other spots used by militants to perpetuate their activities, he assured that the military task force is committed to restoring law and order to Rivers State.
The JTF commander said 99.9 per cent of the camps operated by militants in the state have been identified by the special military unit, saying, "We know where they are and they are at our finger tips".
On the truce declared by the militants, Brig. Gen. Bello said while the military top brass in the country welcome the development, the ceasefire, he however explained, would not prevent the JTF from discharging its responsibility of maintaining security in all parts of the state, whether on land or water.
He, therefore, advised the militants to go beyond the ceasefire and lay down their arms and explore peaceful alternatives to channel their demands to the Federal Government. Bello dismissed insinuations that the military killed civilians and attacked civilian habitations during the clashes with militants in the state, adding that the JTF has rules of engagement and a code of conduct that guides its operations.
(AllAfrica)
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Armed Conflict Affects Medical Care
Medical care has taken a continued dip in the Niger Delta in over two years of armed conflicts orchestrated by militancy, kidnappings and oil sabotage, said National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD).
The NARD, rising from its annual scientific conference and general meeting in Port Harcourt, announced there was a significant drop in medical care in the region "because of the increased armed conflicts within the region."
NARD national president, Owhondah Golden, said the relevant health care indices such as infant and maternal mortality rates had experienced a continued upward movement in the region, reaching an alarming rate, saying oil exploration in the region, spanning five decades, had shored up several diseases among the region’s people. Okongwu Chinedu, secretary general of the group, said noted that "the disease burden in the region has been on the increase due to pollution of its environment, ongoing oil exploration and inadequate health care delivery system in the area."
The doctors are appealing fervently to the Federal Government and governments of the region, to act fast in checking the conflicts, that have ultimately caused medical personnel to generally shun administering drugs and health care to those who need attention in the area. The doctors have therefore pledged that they "would pursue rural outreach health programme to assist in realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in collaboration with the local governments of the country.
A recent survey by United Nations Human Development index said over 70 percent of the population of the Niger Delta live below the poverty line, less than $1 a day.
The region, which is the third largest wetland in the world, has a steadily growing population, now put at over 40 million people as of 2006, accounting for more than 23 percent of Nigeria’s population of over 140 million.
(Business Day)
The NARD, rising from its annual scientific conference and general meeting in Port Harcourt, announced there was a significant drop in medical care in the region "because of the increased armed conflicts within the region."
NARD national president, Owhondah Golden, said the relevant health care indices such as infant and maternal mortality rates had experienced a continued upward movement in the region, reaching an alarming rate, saying oil exploration in the region, spanning five decades, had shored up several diseases among the region’s people. Okongwu Chinedu, secretary general of the group, said noted that "the disease burden in the region has been on the increase due to pollution of its environment, ongoing oil exploration and inadequate health care delivery system in the area."
The doctors are appealing fervently to the Federal Government and governments of the region, to act fast in checking the conflicts, that have ultimately caused medical personnel to generally shun administering drugs and health care to those who need attention in the area. The doctors have therefore pledged that they "would pursue rural outreach health programme to assist in realising the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), in collaboration with the local governments of the country.
A recent survey by United Nations Human Development index said over 70 percent of the population of the Niger Delta live below the poverty line, less than $1 a day.
The region, which is the third largest wetland in the world, has a steadily growing population, now put at over 40 million people as of 2006, accounting for more than 23 percent of Nigeria’s population of over 140 million.
(Business Day)
Army Vows to Continue Fight in Delta
Nigeria's army said on Monday it would continue to fight criminal gangs in the oil-producing Niger Delta, underlining the fragility of a ceasefire declared by the region's main militant group.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declared a temporary ceasefire on Sunday after a week of attacks on oil platforms, pipelines, flow stations and gas plants in the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
The six days of violence cut Nigeria's oil output by at least 150,000 barrels per day and forced Royal Dutch Shell to warn it may not be able to meet contractual obligations on shipments of crude from the country.
The army welcomed the ceasefire announcement but said that its strategy of fighting a network of criminal gangs involved in crude oil theft and kidnappings for ransom in the Niger Delta remained unchanged.
"We are not at war, so the issue of a ceasefire does not arise," said Brigadier-General Mohammed Yusuf, spokesman for Nigeria's defence headquarters.
"If the restive youths are actually ready to lay down their arms, then we will change our tactics. If there is no crime, then we will change our tactics. All we want is peace for the development of the area," he said.
Security experts say a loose coalition of various armed groups operate under the MEND franchise in the anarchic delta, where foreign oil firms including Shell, Chevron, Total and Agip have interests.
MEND launched what it described as an "oil war" in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks in southern Nigeria, just over a week ago in response to what it said were unprovoked air and sea attacks by the security forces on one of its bases.
It warned in Sunday's ceasefire declaration, announced after a plea by elders, that it would resume its campaign of sabotage against the oil industry if it came under attack again.
Ateke Tom, one militia leader whose group claimed attacks on at least two oil flow stations during last week's strikes, warned that the ceasefire could be lifted at any time.
"This will depend on the military and the government," he told Reuters by telephone from the creeks.
Successive Nigerian leaders have pledged to pacify the Niger Delta, where resentment against the oil industry runs high among impoverished villagers but where criminal gangs also grow rich from a trade in stolen crude and kidnappings for ransom.
President Umaru Yar'Adua this month created a Ministry for the Niger Delta meant to address the instability by developing the region and "empowering" its frustrated youths.
Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the delta, set up a new panel to look at how to bring about lasting peace, but it is charged with reviewing all previous reports on the problem since 1958 and has been dismissed by the militants as the latest in a string of endless committees and proposals.
(Reuters)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) declared a temporary ceasefire on Sunday after a week of attacks on oil platforms, pipelines, flow stations and gas plants in the heartland of Africa's biggest oil and gas industry.
The six days of violence cut Nigeria's oil output by at least 150,000 barrels per day and forced Royal Dutch Shell to warn it may not be able to meet contractual obligations on shipments of crude from the country.
The army welcomed the ceasefire announcement but said that its strategy of fighting a network of criminal gangs involved in crude oil theft and kidnappings for ransom in the Niger Delta remained unchanged.
"We are not at war, so the issue of a ceasefire does not arise," said Brigadier-General Mohammed Yusuf, spokesman for Nigeria's defence headquarters.
"If the restive youths are actually ready to lay down their arms, then we will change our tactics. If there is no crime, then we will change our tactics. All we want is peace for the development of the area," he said.
Security experts say a loose coalition of various armed groups operate under the MEND franchise in the anarchic delta, where foreign oil firms including Shell, Chevron, Total and Agip have interests.
MEND launched what it described as an "oil war" in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks in southern Nigeria, just over a week ago in response to what it said were unprovoked air and sea attacks by the security forces on one of its bases.
It warned in Sunday's ceasefire declaration, announced after a plea by elders, that it would resume its campaign of sabotage against the oil industry if it came under attack again.
Ateke Tom, one militia leader whose group claimed attacks on at least two oil flow stations during last week's strikes, warned that the ceasefire could be lifted at any time.
"This will depend on the military and the government," he told Reuters by telephone from the creeks.
Successive Nigerian leaders have pledged to pacify the Niger Delta, where resentment against the oil industry runs high among impoverished villagers but where criminal gangs also grow rich from a trade in stolen crude and kidnappings for ransom.
President Umaru Yar'Adua this month created a Ministry for the Niger Delta meant to address the instability by developing the region and "empowering" its frustrated youths.
Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan, who is from the delta, set up a new panel to look at how to bring about lasting peace, but it is charged with reviewing all previous reports on the problem since 1958 and has been dismissed by the militants as the latest in a string of endless committees and proposals.
(Reuters)
Hostages Reportedly Released
Two South Africans held hostage by Nigeria's main militant group for ten days have been freed, SA officials confirmed.
Captives, Dan Laarman and Robert Berrie with three other international oil workers, including two Britons and one Ukrainian were taken hostage on 9 September, when their vessel was captured by unknown gunmen.
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it handed over the two to government secret service agents and expected them to be presented to South African government officials in Port Harcourt."Duo was handed over to government secret service officials at 11 pm on Thursday night, who will in turn hand them over to representatives of South African high commission," said Jomo Gbomo a spokesperson MEND.
Mr Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs.Release of two south Africans was confirmed by South African high commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Stix Sifingo, said Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, expressed appreciation on behalf of her government to Nigerian authorities for helping to bring about a resolution to the matter.Militant groups attack oil installations and kidnap expatriate workers, saying they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor.Mr Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said on Friday when they received the news from their Cosmos home on Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria they were overjoyed.
"When I heard Dan's voice over the phone on Friday afternoon, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It was a very emotional experience for me," Ingrid said.
Meanwhile MEND said it rescued 27 hostages from group that had been kidnapped but would hold on to 25 remaining hostages, until Henry Okah who is the leader and was released from prison.
However two South Africans were released because Mr Okah's wife, who lives in South Africa, said South African government treated her and her children well.Last month two German hostages employed by a local unit of Manheim based construction company Bilfinger Berger were also set free by militants group after they were abducted by kidnappers.
(Afrol News)
Captives, Dan Laarman and Robert Berrie with three other international oil workers, including two Britons and one Ukrainian were taken hostage on 9 September, when their vessel was captured by unknown gunmen.
Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it handed over the two to government secret service agents and expected them to be presented to South African government officials in Port Harcourt."Duo was handed over to government secret service officials at 11 pm on Thursday night, who will in turn hand them over to representatives of South African high commission," said Jomo Gbomo a spokesperson MEND.
Mr Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs.Release of two south Africans was confirmed by South African high commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Stix Sifingo, said Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, expressed appreciation on behalf of her government to Nigerian authorities for helping to bring about a resolution to the matter.Militant groups attack oil installations and kidnap expatriate workers, saying they are fighting for a greater share of profits from oil exploitation for the poor.Mr Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said on Friday when they received the news from their Cosmos home on Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria they were overjoyed.
"When I heard Dan's voice over the phone on Friday afternoon, it felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. It was a very emotional experience for me," Ingrid said.
Meanwhile MEND said it rescued 27 hostages from group that had been kidnapped but would hold on to 25 remaining hostages, until Henry Okah who is the leader and was released from prison.
However two South Africans were released because Mr Okah's wife, who lives in South Africa, said South African government treated her and her children well.Last month two German hostages employed by a local unit of Manheim based construction company Bilfinger Berger were also set free by militants group after they were abducted by kidnappers.
(Afrol News)
Monday, September 22, 2008
Bloody Week in the Niger Delta
Even by the usual violent standards of Nigeria's conflict-ridden, oil-rich southern Niger Delta region, it has been a bloody seven days, with dozens of civilian casualties and many more wounded or displaced, according to local observers, in clashes in Rivers state between the military and rebel fighters.
The clashes - reportedly the heaviest in two years in the region - were sparked on 13 September when government security forces allegedly razed the villages of Soku, Kula, and Tombia, in Rivers state while looking for Farah Dagogo, a member of rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
Civilians caught in crossfire
"I got distress calls from the affected areas saying two of the villages had been razed to the ground, and there was an urgent need for medical teams to go there, but it was not possible for us to go." said Chika Onah with the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) in Port Harcourt.
Ongoing insecurity has cut off access to parts of Rivers state, making it hard for disaster workers to count how many of the estimated 20,000 inhabitants in the three towns have fled, according to NRC.
Nevertheless, Onah told IRIN civilian casualties are high. "There is no way the civilian population will not suffer in this kind of attack."
Local human rights workers told IRIN they were caught in helicopter and boat gunfire. Sofiri Joad Peterside, a human rights campaigner in the Delta told IRIN, "These were aerial strikes without clear targets. What we are calling for right now is an independent assessor to determine the extent of civilian vulnerability to all these strikes."
He said the violence hit civilians directly. "The centre of the violence was full of civilians. We live in riverine areas and in every riverine area, you have a forest where people go to pick seafood, and you have a community."
But Nigerian army spokesman, Emeka Onwuamaegbu, said the military did not carry out a full-scale offensive. "We are applying minimum force in tackling the situation...we cannot go all out to kill our own people. Can we?"
Surge in violence
On 14 September, MEND declared war against foreign-owned oil companies working in the Delta, pledging to destroy oil pipelines and flow stations, and warning companies to evacuate their staff and stop pumping. MEND claims five attacks since its oil war threat.
Rebels have escalated attacks in recent months against oil production spots, according to locals who do not want to reveal their identities because of the region's volatility.
A government effort to reign in oil smuggling by shutting down 200 illegal oil refineries in the past two months has sparked more fighting, according to the governmental Joint Military Task Force.
The Niger Delta, 70,000 kilometres of mostly wetlands, is home to some 20 million people who sit atop more than 30 billion barrels of top grade crude oil, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The region's oil production has slumped after periodic attacks by local rebels who say criminal gangs and government military forces are siphoning and smuggling oil wealth, leaving behind polluted, malaria-infested, lawless marshlands that have seen little return from oil revenues.
'If you drink our water, you'll get sick'
Oil revenue from the Delta will amount to US$66 billion in 2008, according to an August 2008 report by the UK-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, but Delta residents say they see little of this money invested in the delta communities surrounding the oil fields.
Rebel leader Tom Polo in Wari, in western Delta, told IRIN, "We are suffering in the Niger Delta. If you drink our water, you'll get sick. They [the government] are not doing anything for us. Every day they say oil prices have gone up, but we don't see any tangible benefits from it."
He said the government has not given back to local communities. "If you go to other countries that are rich in oil, they build first-class universities in oil-producing communities, but here there is nothing like that."
Government spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi pledges more development, but says security must come first. "The government takes the Niger Delta very seriously. It is one of the seven key priorities of this administration...we are doing everything possible to improve living conditions in the Delta, but the security forces will continue to check the excesses of all those seeking to exploit the situation to make money through criminal tendencies."
Red Cross worker Onah says spiralling criminality is hampering efforts to protect civilians. "The issue in the Niger Delta has now gone beyond the struggle for a greater share of the region's resources. If they [criminal gangs masquerading as militants] can kidnap a one-year old baby or a sixty-year old grandmother, organisations like ours that want to help have to be very, very careful."
Government tries to quell violence
On 10 September 2008, the Nigerian cabinet appointed a new ministry for the region.
Presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, announced the ministry's plans to "tackle the challenges of infrastructural development, environmental protection and youth empowerment in the region. We believe this is an important step in building confidence about this government's plans for the Niger Delta."
In 2000, the government set up a similar Niger Delta Development Commission to relieve poverty in the region, hoping this would end unrest. But the commission lacked funding and astute management, according to most analysts.
Tony Uranta, executive secretary of the non-governmental United Niger Delta Energy Development and Security Strategy, says the government needs to honour its promises if fighting is going to end- definitively.
Coming out of a meeting with President Umaru Yar'Adua on 19 September, he told IRIN, "It is a mistake to approach the Delta problem as a security problem rather than a development or justice problem. There is a bit of sincerity [from the government] beginning to show but it is still early. Once we see this sincerity in action...there will be changes for the better in the region."
As the two sides wrangle over oil wealth distribution, Samuel Atori, a Delta native and founder of the Abuja-based Izon Prayer Network, concluded, "When two elephants wrestle, the grass suffers."
(VOA)
The clashes - reportedly the heaviest in two years in the region - were sparked on 13 September when government security forces allegedly razed the villages of Soku, Kula, and Tombia, in Rivers state while looking for Farah Dagogo, a member of rebel group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).
Civilians caught in crossfire
"I got distress calls from the affected areas saying two of the villages had been razed to the ground, and there was an urgent need for medical teams to go there, but it was not possible for us to go." said Chika Onah with the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) in Port Harcourt.
Ongoing insecurity has cut off access to parts of Rivers state, making it hard for disaster workers to count how many of the estimated 20,000 inhabitants in the three towns have fled, according to NRC.
Nevertheless, Onah told IRIN civilian casualties are high. "There is no way the civilian population will not suffer in this kind of attack."
Local human rights workers told IRIN they were caught in helicopter and boat gunfire. Sofiri Joad Peterside, a human rights campaigner in the Delta told IRIN, "These were aerial strikes without clear targets. What we are calling for right now is an independent assessor to determine the extent of civilian vulnerability to all these strikes."
He said the violence hit civilians directly. "The centre of the violence was full of civilians. We live in riverine areas and in every riverine area, you have a forest where people go to pick seafood, and you have a community."
But Nigerian army spokesman, Emeka Onwuamaegbu, said the military did not carry out a full-scale offensive. "We are applying minimum force in tackling the situation...we cannot go all out to kill our own people. Can we?"
Surge in violence
On 14 September, MEND declared war against foreign-owned oil companies working in the Delta, pledging to destroy oil pipelines and flow stations, and warning companies to evacuate their staff and stop pumping. MEND claims five attacks since its oil war threat.
Rebels have escalated attacks in recent months against oil production spots, according to locals who do not want to reveal their identities because of the region's volatility.
A government effort to reign in oil smuggling by shutting down 200 illegal oil refineries in the past two months has sparked more fighting, according to the governmental Joint Military Task Force.
The Niger Delta, 70,000 kilometres of mostly wetlands, is home to some 20 million people who sit atop more than 30 billion barrels of top grade crude oil, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The region's oil production has slumped after periodic attacks by local rebels who say criminal gangs and government military forces are siphoning and smuggling oil wealth, leaving behind polluted, malaria-infested, lawless marshlands that have seen little return from oil revenues.
'If you drink our water, you'll get sick'
Oil revenue from the Delta will amount to US$66 billion in 2008, according to an August 2008 report by the UK-based Centre for Global Energy Studies, but Delta residents say they see little of this money invested in the delta communities surrounding the oil fields.
Rebel leader Tom Polo in Wari, in western Delta, told IRIN, "We are suffering in the Niger Delta. If you drink our water, you'll get sick. They [the government] are not doing anything for us. Every day they say oil prices have gone up, but we don't see any tangible benefits from it."
He said the government has not given back to local communities. "If you go to other countries that are rich in oil, they build first-class universities in oil-producing communities, but here there is nothing like that."
Government spokesman Olusegun Adeniyi pledges more development, but says security must come first. "The government takes the Niger Delta very seriously. It is one of the seven key priorities of this administration...we are doing everything possible to improve living conditions in the Delta, but the security forces will continue to check the excesses of all those seeking to exploit the situation to make money through criminal tendencies."
Red Cross worker Onah says spiralling criminality is hampering efforts to protect civilians. "The issue in the Niger Delta has now gone beyond the struggle for a greater share of the region's resources. If they [criminal gangs masquerading as militants] can kidnap a one-year old baby or a sixty-year old grandmother, organisations like ours that want to help have to be very, very careful."
Government tries to quell violence
On 10 September 2008, the Nigerian cabinet appointed a new ministry for the region.
Presidential spokesman, Olusegun Adeniyi, announced the ministry's plans to "tackle the challenges of infrastructural development, environmental protection and youth empowerment in the region. We believe this is an important step in building confidence about this government's plans for the Niger Delta."
In 2000, the government set up a similar Niger Delta Development Commission to relieve poverty in the region, hoping this would end unrest. But the commission lacked funding and astute management, according to most analysts.
Tony Uranta, executive secretary of the non-governmental United Niger Delta Energy Development and Security Strategy, says the government needs to honour its promises if fighting is going to end- definitively.
Coming out of a meeting with President Umaru Yar'Adua on 19 September, he told IRIN, "It is a mistake to approach the Delta problem as a security problem rather than a development or justice problem. There is a bit of sincerity [from the government] beginning to show but it is still early. Once we see this sincerity in action...there will be changes for the better in the region."
As the two sides wrangle over oil wealth distribution, Samuel Atori, a Delta native and founder of the Abuja-based Izon Prayer Network, concluded, "When two elephants wrestle, the grass suffers."
(VOA)
Sunday, September 21, 2008
MEND Declares Cease Fire
Nigeria's main militant group has declared a cease-fire in the southern oil region after a week of stepped-up attacks on the military and oil infrastructure.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says it will cease hostilities immediately after appeals from elders and politicians in the region where fighting has flared over the past week.
The group said Sunday in a statement it would launch another spate of reprisal attacks in the event of another military raid on one of the group's base camps. A military operation on Sept. 14 prompted the latest surge in violence.
(AP)
Nigeria's main militant group began a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday after a week of clashes with the military and attacks on oil installations which have cut output in Africa's top producer.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) launched strikes against pipelines, flow stations and other oil and gas facilities last Sunday in response to what it said were ground and air strikes by the military against one of its bases.
"We decided to 'stop outside Baghdad' even at a time of victory over the military and utter helplessness of the oil companies," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
"Effective 0100 hours (0000 GMT) September 21, exactly one week after we launched our reprisal, MEND will begin a unilateral ceasefire till further notice."
Nigerian government officials have said production has fallen by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week, and estimate the country's current output at 1.95 million bpd.
MEND said it had taken the decision after a plea by elders but warned it would restart its campaign if it came under attack from the security forces. It also warned that other groups aligned with it may not respect the ceasefire.
A spokesman for the joint military taskforce (JTF) which polices the Niger Delta cautiously welcomed MEND's announcement but said the group must demonstrate it could keep its word.
"We will continue to carefully and firmly monitor the situation, and exercise some level of restraint until their declaration is seen to have been actualised," Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa told Reuters.
"We are hoping it will not be another tactical deception which we have already prepared to contend," he said.
MEND has announced ceasefires in the past but subsequently relaunched attacks, claiming provocation by the security forces or by the government.
PRODUCTION IMPACT
MEND has carried out at least six attacks in as many days over the past week, its most intense campaign for years against the world's eighth biggest oil exporter.
Royal Dutch Shell, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a force majeure on shipments of Bonny Light, a type of crude oil, effective from Friday. Force majeure is a contractual clause invoked by suppliers when they cannot meet their obligations due to events beyond their control.
Such intensity of attacks across the eastern Niger Delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks, has made assessing the impact difficult as engineers scramble to investigate exactly how much production has been hit in each location.
Shell -- which operates onshore in Nigeria in a joint venture with state run oil firm NNPC -- has given no figures.
Oil workers' union PENGASSAN accused the government of a "lacklustre" approach to reaching a permanent ceasefire in the region and warned that Angola -- which vies with Nigeria for the position of Africa's top producer -- would soon eclipse it.
"Because of the protracted crisis ... Angola has become the alternative haven of oil investors," it said in a statement.
The militants say they want greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta. But the unrest is fuelled by a lucrative trade in stolen oil worth millions of dollars a day.
Security experts say the region will never be stable unless an alternative source of income can be found for the gunmen, businessmen, politicians and international shippers all taking their slice of the illegal profits.
(Reuters)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta says it will cease hostilities immediately after appeals from elders and politicians in the region where fighting has flared over the past week.
The group said Sunday in a statement it would launch another spate of reprisal attacks in the event of another military raid on one of the group's base camps. A military operation on Sept. 14 prompted the latest surge in violence.
(AP)
Nigeria's main militant group began a unilateral ceasefire on Sunday after a week of clashes with the military and attacks on oil installations which have cut output in Africa's top producer.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) launched strikes against pipelines, flow stations and other oil and gas facilities last Sunday in response to what it said were ground and air strikes by the military against one of its bases.
"We decided to 'stop outside Baghdad' even at a time of victory over the military and utter helplessness of the oil companies," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
"Effective 0100 hours (0000 GMT) September 21, exactly one week after we launched our reprisal, MEND will begin a unilateral ceasefire till further notice."
Nigerian government officials have said production has fallen by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week, and estimate the country's current output at 1.95 million bpd.
MEND said it had taken the decision after a plea by elders but warned it would restart its campaign if it came under attack from the security forces. It also warned that other groups aligned with it may not respect the ceasefire.
A spokesman for the joint military taskforce (JTF) which polices the Niger Delta cautiously welcomed MEND's announcement but said the group must demonstrate it could keep its word.
"We will continue to carefully and firmly monitor the situation, and exercise some level of restraint until their declaration is seen to have been actualised," Lieutenant-Colonel Sagir Musa told Reuters.
"We are hoping it will not be another tactical deception which we have already prepared to contend," he said.
MEND has announced ceasefires in the past but subsequently relaunched attacks, claiming provocation by the security forces or by the government.
PRODUCTION IMPACT
MEND has carried out at least six attacks in as many days over the past week, its most intense campaign for years against the world's eighth biggest oil exporter.
Royal Dutch Shell, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a force majeure on shipments of Bonny Light, a type of crude oil, effective from Friday. Force majeure is a contractual clause invoked by suppliers when they cannot meet their obligations due to events beyond their control.
Such intensity of attacks across the eastern Niger Delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks, has made assessing the impact difficult as engineers scramble to investigate exactly how much production has been hit in each location.
Shell -- which operates onshore in Nigeria in a joint venture with state run oil firm NNPC -- has given no figures.
Oil workers' union PENGASSAN accused the government of a "lacklustre" approach to reaching a permanent ceasefire in the region and warned that Angola -- which vies with Nigeria for the position of Africa's top producer -- would soon eclipse it.
"Because of the protracted crisis ... Angola has become the alternative haven of oil investors," it said in a statement.
The militants say they want greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta. But the unrest is fuelled by a lucrative trade in stolen oil worth millions of dollars a day.
Security experts say the region will never be stable unless an alternative source of income can be found for the gunmen, businessmen, politicians and international shippers all taking their slice of the illegal profits.
(Reuters)
Saturday, September 20, 2008
Chief of Defense Staff not Intimidated
The Nigerian Armed Forces will not be intimidated by militants operating in the Niger Delta to abdicate its responsibility to defend the country, the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Air Chief Marshall Paul Dike, has said.
Dike said the military was committed to its constitutional duty of defending the territorial integrity of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta, "and nobody can intimidate the military forces into abdicating that responsibility."
The CDS made the remarks yesterday while on a working visit to the headquarters of the Joint (military) Task Force (JTF) in Warri, Delta State.
He was accompanied on the visit by military top brass which included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Adbulra-hman Bello Danbazau.
Also yesterday, former Delta State Governor James Ibori sued for peace over the escalation of hostilities in the Niger Delta
He said: "If there is a season for everything under the sun as the Bible says, there being a time for war and a time for peace, then this is the time for cessation of hostilities in the entire Niger Delta."
Militants operating in the Niger Delta have declared an all out war, attacking and destroying oil facilities.
In the offensive launched last weekend, two flow stations in Rivers State believed to be operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Agip were attacked, leaving the militants and men of the JTF to trade accusations over the attacks.
The attacks on the oil facilities, which have allegedly resulted in more oil shut-ins were carried out as Dike visited military installations in Rivers State to assess the security situation.
Dike, who reaffirmed the position of the armed forces, however, admonished all military personnel to adhere to their professional disciplinary norms in order to effectively deliver on their constitutional obligation.
In a subtle but firm response to the reported threat of "full-scale war" on the country's security personnel in the area by militants, the CDS stressed that the military would continue to work for the restoration of peace in the area.
He also charged the officers and men to respect the people especially the civilian population in their area of national service, but avoid any act that could tarnish the image of the armed forces.
He, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of performance by the JTF personnel, saying the on-the-spot assessment of the troops' battle-readiness was the primary reason for his visit.
In his statement last night, Ibori said: "Having heard the anguished cry of the people of the South-South, President Umaru Yar'Adua is determined to end the suffering of the people, and has therefore approved a large scale intervention in the form of the Niger Delta Ministry to reverse the decades old under-development which the area has suffered.
"So, what is called for now is discussion over the activities and funding of the ministry and how best to make it meet the aspirations of the people. Owing to this, I call on all persons of goodwill to join in this peace effort. Hostilities must cease to give the development process the Federal Government has put in place now the chance to succeed.
"War is like malignant cancer; it usually spreads uncontrollably to other areas. Therefore both sides must listen to the voice of wisdom and stop the conflagration - now."
Ibori called on the angry youths of the Niger Delta to have faith in the President and his new initiative.
According to him, "The Niger Delta and Nigeria need their energy re-channelled into really productive ventures. The educated among them should be encouraged to contribute their talents to the needed battle of speeding Nigeria and Africa on the part of swift development and global respect, and themselves towards personal fulfilment and glory. "The uneducated must face intellectual and skill acquisition to enable them compete in the national and global space.
"Fortunately, the focus of the new ministry is two-pronged. While one corrects the abysmal lack of infrastructure in the area, the other faces the task of upgrading the intellectual and talent pool of the area."
According to Ibori, the youths of the area must take advantage of this by ending the hostilities; emerge from their camps and exploit the opportunities that now beckon.
To the militants, he said: "You have made your point. The whole world now knows that your grievances are genuine, and for the first time, the Federal Government is truly addressing them.
In every journey, there is always a place to stop. Your predecessor in arms, the late Major Isaac Adaka Boro realised this, came out from the bush, and reintegrated himself into the society - after leading the first Niger Delta uprising in the 1960s. You too must do like-wise."
In Port Harcourt yesterday, Dike also expressed satisfaction with the performance of JTF, though he said there might be some areas needing improvements.
The CDS thanked Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi for providing a conducive environment for their men to operate in addition to helping out with some logistics.
He called for further cooperation between the state and the armed forces, pointing out that such cooperation had existed right from the time of the civil war.
Responding, Amaechi pleaded with Dike to do everything possible to improve on the present security situation in the state.
He regretted that those he called criminals masquerading as freedom fighters had unleashed terror on the state, but expressed happiness that JTF was working to restore normalcy.
In Bayelsa, the state Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, asked the Federal Government to urgently consider the establishment of a military command in the state.
Sylva made the call when Dike and Dambazau paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Yenagoa.
He said the call became imperative due to the strategic position of Bayelsa as a border state and one of the highest producers of oil, the mainstay of the nation's economy.
(allAfrica.com)
Dike said the military was committed to its constitutional duty of defending the territorial integrity of the country, particularly in the Niger Delta, "and nobody can intimidate the military forces into abdicating that responsibility."
The CDS made the remarks yesterday while on a working visit to the headquarters of the Joint (military) Task Force (JTF) in Warri, Delta State.
He was accompanied on the visit by military top brass which included the Chief of Army Staff, Lt-Gen. Adbulra-hman Bello Danbazau.
Also yesterday, former Delta State Governor James Ibori sued for peace over the escalation of hostilities in the Niger Delta
He said: "If there is a season for everything under the sun as the Bible says, there being a time for war and a time for peace, then this is the time for cessation of hostilities in the entire Niger Delta."
Militants operating in the Niger Delta have declared an all out war, attacking and destroying oil facilities.
In the offensive launched last weekend, two flow stations in Rivers State believed to be operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Agip were attacked, leaving the militants and men of the JTF to trade accusations over the attacks.
The attacks on the oil facilities, which have allegedly resulted in more oil shut-ins were carried out as Dike visited military installations in Rivers State to assess the security situation.
Dike, who reaffirmed the position of the armed forces, however, admonished all military personnel to adhere to their professional disciplinary norms in order to effectively deliver on their constitutional obligation.
In a subtle but firm response to the reported threat of "full-scale war" on the country's security personnel in the area by militants, the CDS stressed that the military would continue to work for the restoration of peace in the area.
He also charged the officers and men to respect the people especially the civilian population in their area of national service, but avoid any act that could tarnish the image of the armed forces.
He, however, expressed satisfaction with the level of performance by the JTF personnel, saying the on-the-spot assessment of the troops' battle-readiness was the primary reason for his visit.
In his statement last night, Ibori said: "Having heard the anguished cry of the people of the South-South, President Umaru Yar'Adua is determined to end the suffering of the people, and has therefore approved a large scale intervention in the form of the Niger Delta Ministry to reverse the decades old under-development which the area has suffered.
"So, what is called for now is discussion over the activities and funding of the ministry and how best to make it meet the aspirations of the people. Owing to this, I call on all persons of goodwill to join in this peace effort. Hostilities must cease to give the development process the Federal Government has put in place now the chance to succeed.
"War is like malignant cancer; it usually spreads uncontrollably to other areas. Therefore both sides must listen to the voice of wisdom and stop the conflagration - now."
Ibori called on the angry youths of the Niger Delta to have faith in the President and his new initiative.
According to him, "The Niger Delta and Nigeria need their energy re-channelled into really productive ventures. The educated among them should be encouraged to contribute their talents to the needed battle of speeding Nigeria and Africa on the part of swift development and global respect, and themselves towards personal fulfilment and glory. "The uneducated must face intellectual and skill acquisition to enable them compete in the national and global space.
"Fortunately, the focus of the new ministry is two-pronged. While one corrects the abysmal lack of infrastructure in the area, the other faces the task of upgrading the intellectual and talent pool of the area."
According to Ibori, the youths of the area must take advantage of this by ending the hostilities; emerge from their camps and exploit the opportunities that now beckon.
To the militants, he said: "You have made your point. The whole world now knows that your grievances are genuine, and for the first time, the Federal Government is truly addressing them.
In every journey, there is always a place to stop. Your predecessor in arms, the late Major Isaac Adaka Boro realised this, came out from the bush, and reintegrated himself into the society - after leading the first Niger Delta uprising in the 1960s. You too must do like-wise."
In Port Harcourt yesterday, Dike also expressed satisfaction with the performance of JTF, though he said there might be some areas needing improvements.
The CDS thanked Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi for providing a conducive environment for their men to operate in addition to helping out with some logistics.
He called for further cooperation between the state and the armed forces, pointing out that such cooperation had existed right from the time of the civil war.
Responding, Amaechi pleaded with Dike to do everything possible to improve on the present security situation in the state.
He regretted that those he called criminals masquerading as freedom fighters had unleashed terror on the state, but expressed happiness that JTF was working to restore normalcy.
In Bayelsa, the state Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, asked the Federal Government to urgently consider the establishment of a military command in the state.
Sylva made the call when Dike and Dambazau paid him a courtesy visit at the Government House, Yenagoa.
He said the call became imperative due to the strategic position of Bayelsa as a border state and one of the highest producers of oil, the mainstay of the nation's economy.
(allAfrica.com)
Shell Declares Second Force Majeure
Royal Dutch Shell said on Saturday it had declared a second force majeure on crude oil shipments from Nigeria following militant attacks in recent days on its facilities in the Niger Delta.
Shell last week extended a force majeure, which frees it from contractual obligations, on Bonny oil exports from Nigeria following a militant attack in late July.
It said it had declared the second force majeure on Bonny Light shipments on Friday, following further attacks by militants this week.
Shell last week extended a force majeure, which frees it from contractual obligations, on Bonny oil exports from Nigeria following a militant attack in late July.
It said it had declared the second force majeure on Bonny Light shipments on Friday, following further attacks by militants this week.
MEND Continues Assaults on Pipelines
Nigerian militants said on Saturday they had destroyed another major oil pipeline in the Niger Delta after a week of the most intense attacks against Africa's biggest oil and gas industry for years.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had attacked a pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell at Buguma Front in Rivers state late on Friday and warned its campaign was not over.
A Shell spokeswoman in Nigeria said the company was investigating the claim, but gave no further details.
The Anglo-Dutch giant, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a second force majeure on Bonny Light oil shipments on Friday following the week's unrest but gave no details on production.
"MEND will continue to nibble every day at the oil infrastructure in Nigeria until the oil exports reach zero," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
MEND fighters have hit pipelines, flow stations and oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta every day since last Sunday, when the group declared an "oil war" in response to what it said were military ground and air strikes.
Shell operates onshore in Nigeria through its SPDC joint venture, of which it holds 30 percent while state oil firm NNPC holds 55 percent. Local subsidiaries of France's Total and Italy's Agip hold the rest.
Shell had already been forced to extend a force majeure on Nigerian Bonny Light exports, which frees it from contractual obligations, following an attack on a major pipeline in July.
Such intensity of attacks across the eastern Niger Delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks, makes assessing the impact difficult as engineers scramble to investigate exactly how much production has been hit in each location.
Nigerian government officials have said production has fallen by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week, and estimate the country's current output at 1.95 million bpd.
INTENSE AND SUSTAINED
The attacks this week have largely been limited to Rivers state in the eastern Niger Delta but MEND has warned it may extend its campaign to other areas on- and off-shore.
The violence has been the most intense and sustained since MEND first launched its campaign of sabotage in early 2006, and has included relatively rare direct confrontation with the army.
The world oil market, which has largely focused on the fallout from the credit crisis, has found some support from the situation. Prices traded above $100 on Friday.
MEND said it had launched this week's campaign -- an operation it calls "Hurricane Barbarossa" -- in response to air and naval attacks on one of its bases in Rivers state.
"When (Rivers state governor Rotimi) Amaechi took over, the government just said that they must kill me and my boys," one militant leader, Ateke Tom, told Reuters television this week.
"That is why we are fighting back," he said, surrounded by heavily armed fighters.
The militants want greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta, where impoverished villagers live among polluted land and water.
The unrest is fuelled by a lucrative trade in stolen oil worth millions of dollars a day.
Security experts say the region will never be stable unless an alternative source of income can be found for the gunmen, businessmen, politicians and international shippers all taking their slice of the illegal profits.
(Reuters)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) said it had attacked a pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell at Buguma Front in Rivers state late on Friday and warned its campaign was not over.
A Shell spokeswoman in Nigeria said the company was investigating the claim, but gave no further details.
The Anglo-Dutch giant, the company hardest hit by the violence, declared a second force majeure on Bonny Light oil shipments on Friday following the week's unrest but gave no details on production.
"MEND will continue to nibble every day at the oil infrastructure in Nigeria until the oil exports reach zero," the group said in an e-mailed statement.
MEND fighters have hit pipelines, flow stations and oil and gas facilities in the Niger Delta every day since last Sunday, when the group declared an "oil war" in response to what it said were military ground and air strikes.
Shell operates onshore in Nigeria through its SPDC joint venture, of which it holds 30 percent while state oil firm NNPC holds 55 percent. Local subsidiaries of France's Total and Italy's Agip hold the rest.
Shell had already been forced to extend a force majeure on Nigerian Bonny Light exports, which frees it from contractual obligations, following an attack on a major pipeline in July.
Such intensity of attacks across the eastern Niger Delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks, makes assessing the impact difficult as engineers scramble to investigate exactly how much production has been hit in each location.
Nigerian government officials have said production has fallen by 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) over the past week, and estimate the country's current output at 1.95 million bpd.
INTENSE AND SUSTAINED
The attacks this week have largely been limited to Rivers state in the eastern Niger Delta but MEND has warned it may extend its campaign to other areas on- and off-shore.
The violence has been the most intense and sustained since MEND first launched its campaign of sabotage in early 2006, and has included relatively rare direct confrontation with the army.
The world oil market, which has largely focused on the fallout from the credit crisis, has found some support from the situation. Prices traded above $100 on Friday.
MEND said it had launched this week's campaign -- an operation it calls "Hurricane Barbarossa" -- in response to air and naval attacks on one of its bases in Rivers state.
"When (Rivers state governor Rotimi) Amaechi took over, the government just said that they must kill me and my boys," one militant leader, Ateke Tom, told Reuters television this week.
"That is why we are fighting back," he said, surrounded by heavily armed fighters.
The militants want greater development and a better living environment after decades of neglect in the delta, where impoverished villagers live among polluted land and water.
The unrest is fuelled by a lucrative trade in stolen oil worth millions of dollars a day.
Security experts say the region will never be stable unless an alternative source of income can be found for the gunmen, businessmen, politicians and international shippers all taking their slice of the illegal profits.
(Reuters)
Friday, September 19, 2008
MEND Claims More Attacks Against Shell
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) on Thursday launched a new attack on a Shell Development Company pipeline in Rivers state of Nigeria.
In the statement sent via e-mail, the most prominent rebel group in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region said its members had destroyed a major pipeline belonging to Shell Development Company at the Elem- Kalabari Cawthorne Channel axis in the southeastern state of Rivers.
SAD WEEK FOR OIL FIRMS
Besides the new attack, MEND, who has been in intense fighting with Nigerian government forces since Sept. 13, had allegedly destroyed three more oil pipelines in Rivers state.
Meanwhile, several oil flow stations and gas plants have also been blown up in Rivers state since last Saturday.
The rebel group has ordered oil companies to evacuate their workers and foreign vessels to leave ports in Nigeria's oil region to avoid militant attacks, warning that it will extend the "oil war" to neighboring states in the Niger Delta region.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has suffered huge losses. Several employees were killed in the attacks.
"Regrettably, a community station guard was killed during the incident... Four other people are being treated for injuries sustained during the incident at the Shell hospital in Port Harcourt," said a SPDC spokesperson in an e-mail when the first attack on Shell's Alakiri flow station, gas plant and field logistics base was reported on Sept. 15.
"SPDC is aware of the difficulty the security situation places on staff, and continues to monitor developments," the spokesperson said.
It was apparently just the beginning of the ongoing battle, and no one can tell when it will end.
Security sources said Nigerian forces need to further prove their capability until attacks on oil facilities in the region were forestalled.
OIL PRODUCTION CRIPPLED
On Sept. 10, Nigerian President Yar'Adua started to reshuffle his government and created a new Ministry of Niger Delta, vowing to promote development and peace in the country's oil-rich area.
But his efforts have apparently been crippled by the fresh fighting between government forces and the rebel group in the region, so has been oil production, the nation's cash cow.
The rampant attacks on Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region have long been a big headache for the Nigerian government.
Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in the Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of the region's natural resources, especially oil, through kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, leading to a drop of about 25 percent oil production compared with the country's peak output of 2.6 million barrels per day.
According to reports from the Associated Press, a spokesman for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria's state oil company, said Wednesday that militant attacks are now cutting the country's daily oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, putting the country's daily output at around 1.5 million barrels per day, a total loss of 40 percent since the militant campaign began in 2005.
As more than 80 percent of the country's revenue relies on crude oil sales, the oil production shut-in could be a blow big enough to undermine its ambition to become the world's top 20 economies by 2020.
It is difficult to figure out what repercussions the dramatic drop in oil production of the world's 8th largest oil exporter would have in other parts of the world, which is struggling in the face of a new bout of financial turmoil in recent days.
(China News Agency)
In the statement sent via e-mail, the most prominent rebel group in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region said its members had destroyed a major pipeline belonging to Shell Development Company at the Elem- Kalabari Cawthorne Channel axis in the southeastern state of Rivers.
SAD WEEK FOR OIL FIRMS
Besides the new attack, MEND, who has been in intense fighting with Nigerian government forces since Sept. 13, had allegedly destroyed three more oil pipelines in Rivers state.
Meanwhile, several oil flow stations and gas plants have also been blown up in Rivers state since last Saturday.
The rebel group has ordered oil companies to evacuate their workers and foreign vessels to leave ports in Nigeria's oil region to avoid militant attacks, warning that it will extend the "oil war" to neighboring states in the Niger Delta region.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) has suffered huge losses. Several employees were killed in the attacks.
"Regrettably, a community station guard was killed during the incident... Four other people are being treated for injuries sustained during the incident at the Shell hospital in Port Harcourt," said a SPDC spokesperson in an e-mail when the first attack on Shell's Alakiri flow station, gas plant and field logistics base was reported on Sept. 15.
"SPDC is aware of the difficulty the security situation places on staff, and continues to monitor developments," the spokesperson said.
It was apparently just the beginning of the ongoing battle, and no one can tell when it will end.
Security sources said Nigerian forces need to further prove their capability until attacks on oil facilities in the region were forestalled.
OIL PRODUCTION CRIPPLED
On Sept. 10, Nigerian President Yar'Adua started to reshuffle his government and created a new Ministry of Niger Delta, vowing to promote development and peace in the country's oil-rich area.
But his efforts have apparently been crippled by the fresh fighting between government forces and the rebel group in the region, so has been oil production, the nation's cash cow.
The rampant attacks on Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta region have long been a big headache for the Nigerian government.
Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in the Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of the region's natural resources, especially oil, through kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, leading to a drop of about 25 percent oil production compared with the country's peak output of 2.6 million barrels per day.
According to reports from the Associated Press, a spokesman for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Nigeria's state oil company, said Wednesday that militant attacks are now cutting the country's daily oil production by about 1 million barrels a day, putting the country's daily output at around 1.5 million barrels per day, a total loss of 40 percent since the militant campaign began in 2005.
As more than 80 percent of the country's revenue relies on crude oil sales, the oil production shut-in could be a blow big enough to undermine its ambition to become the world's top 20 economies by 2020.
It is difficult to figure out what repercussions the dramatic drop in oil production of the world's 8th largest oil exporter would have in other parts of the world, which is struggling in the face of a new bout of financial turmoil in recent days.
(China News Agency)
Detained Journalists Released
Nigerian security agents have released three reporters arrested over an erroneous report claiming the president would step down on health grounds.
The journalists said they were freed late Thursday. They include Channels news employee Bashir Adigun, who also works for The Associated Press in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Channels Television — a major private broadcaster shut down by security officials after the incident — remained off-air.
Channels and other media briefly reported Tuesday that President Umaru Yar'Adua, who suffers a kidney ailment, could shortly leave office. They cited a report by Nigeria's official news agency.
But top government officials said the report was a hoax, claiming no such story had ever been sent to subscribers, and quickly disavowed the information.
(AP)
The journalists said they were freed late Thursday. They include Channels news employee Bashir Adigun, who also works for The Associated Press in the Nigerian capital, Abuja. Channels Television — a major private broadcaster shut down by security officials after the incident — remained off-air.
Channels and other media briefly reported Tuesday that President Umaru Yar'Adua, who suffers a kidney ailment, could shortly leave office. They cited a report by Nigeria's official news agency.
But top government officials said the report was a hoax, claiming no such story had ever been sent to subscribers, and quickly disavowed the information.
(AP)
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Oil War Continues
Nigerian militants threatened on Wednesday to broaden their "oil war" to offshore oilfields and announced attacks on a crude oil pipeline in the Niger Delta and another Shell-operated facility.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of OPEC member Nigeria's oil output, said it would launch attacks outside Rivers state for the first time since clashes began on Saturday.
Oil traders on Wednesday began to take notice of the rise in violence and that helped push prices above $94 a barrel in early trading. The market has fallen sharply this week on the impact of the credit crisis on the global economy.
The heaviest fighting between militants and security forces in more than two years has spread to about 10 villages in Rivers state, home to oil city Port Harcourt. Some private security sources estimate dozens have died.
"After Rivers, the hurricane will be heading to the neighbouring states in the Niger Delta," MEND said in an e-mailed statement.
Experts believe the clashes could continue for weeks as the military tries to capture or kill top militant leaders and regain control of the region's oil resources.
"The fight is over control of oil resources and the right to tap those resources," said Antony Goldman, an analyst at London-based risk consultancy PM Consulting.
Militants have bombed pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields, halting up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production in the past five days, said an official with state oil firm NNPC.
The world's eighth largest oil exporter is currently pumping around 1.95 million bpd.
MEND, which says it is fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, attacked Shell's Orubiri flow station and a crude oil pipeline at Rumuekpe in Rivers state late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
"It is feared the (Orubiri) facility may have caught fire due to intense, sporadic gunshots and massive dynamite and bomb explosions," said Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force in Rivers state.
Musa said no soldiers were killed in the attack, which involved an assault by eight gunboats.
Militants said their next targets would be major offshore oilfields.
"Soldiers and oil workers are advised to abandon all oil facilities including the offshore rigs of Bonga and Agbami as we want to minimise casualties," MEND said.
MEND launched its most daring strike in June against Shell's $3.6 billion Bonga oilfield, which lies some 120 kilometres from the coast, forcing the company to shut down the 220,000 bpd operation for several days.
MEND's other target, Chevron's Agbami oilfield, is Nigeria's newest oilfield. The facility, which started production in late July, is expected to pump about 100,000 bpd by February.
Chevron and Shell officials said they did not discuss their security plans.
MEND said it was still holding 27 oil workers captive as leverage for the release of suspected militant leader Henry Okah, who is in jail for gun-running and treason.
A Nigeria military spokesman said late on Tuesday two South African hostages had been released, but MEND denied this.
MEND said on Monday it would release the pair after a personal appeal from Okah's wife.
(Reuters)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of OPEC member Nigeria's oil output, said it would launch attacks outside Rivers state for the first time since clashes began on Saturday.
Oil traders on Wednesday began to take notice of the rise in violence and that helped push prices above $94 a barrel in early trading. The market has fallen sharply this week on the impact of the credit crisis on the global economy.
The heaviest fighting between militants and security forces in more than two years has spread to about 10 villages in Rivers state, home to oil city Port Harcourt. Some private security sources estimate dozens have died.
"After Rivers, the hurricane will be heading to the neighbouring states in the Niger Delta," MEND said in an e-mailed statement.
Experts believe the clashes could continue for weeks as the military tries to capture or kill top militant leaders and regain control of the region's oil resources.
"The fight is over control of oil resources and the right to tap those resources," said Antony Goldman, an analyst at London-based risk consultancy PM Consulting.
Militants have bombed pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields, halting up to 150,000 barrels per day (bpd) of oil production in the past five days, said an official with state oil firm NNPC.
The world's eighth largest oil exporter is currently pumping around 1.95 million bpd.
MEND, which says it is fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, attacked Shell's Orubiri flow station and a crude oil pipeline at Rumuekpe in Rivers state late Tuesday and early Wednesday.
"It is feared the (Orubiri) facility may have caught fire due to intense, sporadic gunshots and massive dynamite and bomb explosions," said Lieutenant Colonel Sagir Musa, spokesman for the military task force in Rivers state.
Musa said no soldiers were killed in the attack, which involved an assault by eight gunboats.
Militants said their next targets would be major offshore oilfields.
"Soldiers and oil workers are advised to abandon all oil facilities including the offshore rigs of Bonga and Agbami as we want to minimise casualties," MEND said.
MEND launched its most daring strike in June against Shell's $3.6 billion Bonga oilfield, which lies some 120 kilometres from the coast, forcing the company to shut down the 220,000 bpd operation for several days.
MEND's other target, Chevron's Agbami oilfield, is Nigeria's newest oilfield. The facility, which started production in late July, is expected to pump about 100,000 bpd by February.
Chevron and Shell officials said they did not discuss their security plans.
MEND said it was still holding 27 oil workers captive as leverage for the release of suspected militant leader Henry Okah, who is in jail for gun-running and treason.
A Nigeria military spokesman said late on Tuesday two South African hostages had been released, but MEND denied this.
MEND said on Monday it would release the pair after a personal appeal from Okah's wife.
(Reuters)
Committee to Protect Journalists Press Release
CPJ condemns the ongoing harassment of translator Samuel George in Port Harcourt. Security services officers have ordered George to report to their offices on September 26, although no charges have been brought against him in the two weeks he has been made to report repeatedly.
George was working as a translator for U.S. filmmaker Andrew Berends when they were arrested by the military on August 31, and then transferred to the Nigerian State Security Services. Berends was detained for 36 hours and then was ordered to report daily to state security for 10 days before he was eventually deported on September 9 with no official charges brought against him. The security services kept George in custody for five days after the arrests, then ordered him to report to the security offices three times last week, George told CPJ. He has not been questioned, he said, and he has not been given a reason for his detention.
According to Nigerian law, official charges must be brought within 48 hours.
"Samuel George has been targeted by the security services merely for helping a journalist carry out his professional work," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. "The ongoing intimidation of George contravenes Nigerian law and must end immediately."
Berends entered Nigeria in April to complete a documentary film about the Niger Delta region's oil conflict called "Delta Boys," sponsored by the New York-based Tribeca Film Institute.
Berends previously directed a film about Iraq called "Blood of My Brother," which was screened widely on the international festival circuit and earned a 2006 International Documentary Award.
George is a graduate of Port Harcourt University of Science and Technology and was working with Berends as a translator.
Another documentary film crew was detained this year by the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta region. The military arrested the film crew of "Sweet Crude" on April 12 and held them for a week on charges that were never substantiated.
George was working as a translator for U.S. filmmaker Andrew Berends when they were arrested by the military on August 31, and then transferred to the Nigerian State Security Services. Berends was detained for 36 hours and then was ordered to report daily to state security for 10 days before he was eventually deported on September 9 with no official charges brought against him. The security services kept George in custody for five days after the arrests, then ordered him to report to the security offices three times last week, George told CPJ. He has not been questioned, he said, and he has not been given a reason for his detention.
According to Nigerian law, official charges must be brought within 48 hours.
"Samuel George has been targeted by the security services merely for helping a journalist carry out his professional work," said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Tom Rhodes. "The ongoing intimidation of George contravenes Nigerian law and must end immediately."
Berends entered Nigeria in April to complete a documentary film about the Niger Delta region's oil conflict called "Delta Boys," sponsored by the New York-based Tribeca Film Institute.
Berends previously directed a film about Iraq called "Blood of My Brother," which was screened widely on the international festival circuit and earned a 2006 International Documentary Award.
George is a graduate of Port Harcourt University of Science and Technology and was working with Berends as a translator.
Another documentary film crew was detained this year by the Nigerian military in the Niger Delta region. The military arrested the film crew of "Sweet Crude" on April 12 and held them for a week on charges that were never substantiated.
Station Closed Down After Hoax
Nigerian TV station off air over report on president's health
A leading Nigerian private television station was taken off air after it reported that the president was considering resigning on health grounds, authorities said Wednesday.
The offending broadcast was based on a Tuesday report allegedly sent out by the official state News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which said President Umaru Yar'Adua could stand down "for medical reasons."
The agency has denied being the source of the article while Yar'Adua's aides have said he has no plans whatsoever to resign.
"The NBC (National Broadcasting Commission) hereby invokes the law and suspends with immediate effect the broadcasting operations of Channels Television in all locations in Nigeria," the broadcasting authority said in a statement.
Security forces personnel had visited the station's offices and five people were taken in for questioning. The channel has been off the airwaves since Tuesday evening.
The closure sparked a storm of criticism as media watchdogs urged the authorities to probe the story's source instead of closing down media houses or arresting journalists.
"No medium of communication should be shut down on account of alleged infraction. Any professional misconduct should be properly investigated," said the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
(AFP)
A leading Nigerian private television station was taken off air after it reported that the president was considering resigning on health grounds, authorities said Wednesday.
The offending broadcast was based on a Tuesday report allegedly sent out by the official state News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) which said President Umaru Yar'Adua could stand down "for medical reasons."
The agency has denied being the source of the article while Yar'Adua's aides have said he has no plans whatsoever to resign.
"The NBC (National Broadcasting Commission) hereby invokes the law and suspends with immediate effect the broadcasting operations of Channels Television in all locations in Nigeria," the broadcasting authority said in a statement.
Security forces personnel had visited the station's offices and five people were taken in for questioning. The channel has been off the airwaves since Tuesday evening.
The closure sparked a storm of criticism as media watchdogs urged the authorities to probe the story's source instead of closing down media houses or arresting journalists.
"No medium of communication should be shut down on account of alleged infraction. Any professional misconduct should be properly investigated," said the Nigerian Guild of Editors.
(AFP)
Scot Kidnapped
THE Foreign Office confirmed yesterday that a businessman kidnapped by gunmen in Nigeria on Monday is a Scot.
Mike Welford, 65, is believed to come from the Aberdeen area, but he has lived and worked in Nigeria for several years and is married to a Nigerian.
(Scotsman)
Mike Welford, 65, is believed to come from the Aberdeen area, but he has lived and worked in Nigeria for several years and is married to a Nigerian.
(Scotsman)
More Oil Lost
Nigeria lost 280,000 barrels daily of its crude output to attacks launched by armed militants in the Niger Delta oil region in the past five days, bringing currently shut output to about one million barrels a day, the state-run oil company said.
``Current shut-in production stands at about one million barrels a day, but it's not necessarily due to militant attacks,'' Levi Ajuonuma, spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said by phone from the country's capital, Abuja, today. ``Only 28 percent (280,000 barrels) is because of militant action.''
The state oil company, also known as NNPC, holds the majority stake in five joint ventures with oil majors that produce more than 90 percent of Nigeria's crude oil. Operators of the joint ventures include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Total and Eni Spa.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in the oil region, said it declared an ``oil war'' in the southern delta that accounts for nearly all of the country's oil after the military launched an offensive on Sept. 13 on its positions.
In the last five days the militant group, also known as MEND, has attacked pipelines and oil pumping stations run by the Nigerian units of Shell, Chevron and Eni.
In addition to output shut-ins caused by these attacks, Nigeria had accumulated shut-ins due to maintenance projects, leaking pipelines and previous violent disruptions, Ajuonuma said. Exxon Mobil, which has not experienced the recent attacks, has shut some of its production to carry out maintenance on its pipelines, he said.
`Closed for Maintenance'
``Some of the oil facilities attacked in recent days were already closed for maintenance,'' Ajuonuma said.
MEND says it's fighting on behalf of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta who have yet to share in the oil wealth of the region.
Nigeria has Africa's biggest hydrocarbon reserves, with more than 30 billion barrels of crude and 187 trillion cubic feet of gas and was the continent's biggest crude exporter in July and August, according to Bloomberg data. The West African country is the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.
(Bloomberg)
``Current shut-in production stands at about one million barrels a day, but it's not necessarily due to militant attacks,'' Levi Ajuonuma, spokesman for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. said by phone from the country's capital, Abuja, today. ``Only 28 percent (280,000 barrels) is because of militant action.''
The state oil company, also known as NNPC, holds the majority stake in five joint ventures with oil majors that produce more than 90 percent of Nigeria's crude oil. Operators of the joint ventures include Royal Dutch Shell Plc, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., Total and Eni Spa.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the main militant group in the oil region, said it declared an ``oil war'' in the southern delta that accounts for nearly all of the country's oil after the military launched an offensive on Sept. 13 on its positions.
In the last five days the militant group, also known as MEND, has attacked pipelines and oil pumping stations run by the Nigerian units of Shell, Chevron and Eni.
In addition to output shut-ins caused by these attacks, Nigeria had accumulated shut-ins due to maintenance projects, leaking pipelines and previous violent disruptions, Ajuonuma said. Exxon Mobil, which has not experienced the recent attacks, has shut some of its production to carry out maintenance on its pipelines, he said.
`Closed for Maintenance'
``Some of the oil facilities attacked in recent days were already closed for maintenance,'' Ajuonuma said.
MEND says it's fighting on behalf of the inhabitants of the Niger Delta who have yet to share in the oil wealth of the region.
Nigeria has Africa's biggest hydrocarbon reserves, with more than 30 billion barrels of crude and 187 trillion cubic feet of gas and was the continent's biggest crude exporter in July and August, according to Bloomberg data. The West African country is the fifth-biggest source of U.S. oil imports.
(Bloomberg)
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Delta Violence Timeline
Nigerian militants have attacked oil facilities in the Niger Delta in the heaviest fighting in two years.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of the OPEC member's output since it emerged late in 2005. Below is a chronology of conflict in the Niger Delta since then.
Dec 2005 - Dynamite attack on major pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell kills eight people. MEND claims responsibility.
Jan 2006 - Militants carry out a series of raids on oil installations, killing six people in a raid on a Shell platform and prompting the firm to evacuate hundreds of workers.
Feb 2006 - Nigerian forces attack targets in the Niger Delta by helicopter gunship and militants fire back with rockets as the conflict escalates.
Oct 2006 - Militants in speed boats attack soldiers escorting a convoy supplying oilfields, killing five. Days later, militants kill 17 soldiers in two separate gun battles.
June 2007 - After new President Umaru Yar'Adua takes office, a court frees former militia leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari on bail. He had been in jail since 2005.
Sept 2007 - Suspected militant leader Henry Okah arrested in Angola, prompting MEND to pull out of talks. He was extradited to Nigeria to face treason charges in Feb. 2008.
Feb 2008 - A group of influential rebels and activists say they want to resume peace talks with the government but MEND stays out.
April 2008 - Angola temporarily surpasses Nigeria as Africa's top oil producer because of the Niger Delta outages.
June 2008 - MEND attacks Shell's Bonga oilfield, 120 km (75 miles) offshore, the furthest it has struck in Nigeria's deep waters.
July 2008 - Top U.N. official Ibrahim Gambari resigns as head of committee organising peace talks after Niger Delta leaders criticise his role under past dictator.
Sept. 10, 2008 - Yar'Adua approves creation of a new ministry for the Niger Delta, but militants are dismissive of the idea.
Sept 14, 2008 - MEND declare an "oil war" in the Niger Delta after two days of gunbattles with security forces.
(Reuters)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of the OPEC member's output since it emerged late in 2005. Below is a chronology of conflict in the Niger Delta since then.
Dec 2005 - Dynamite attack on major pipeline operated by Royal Dutch Shell kills eight people. MEND claims responsibility.
Jan 2006 - Militants carry out a series of raids on oil installations, killing six people in a raid on a Shell platform and prompting the firm to evacuate hundreds of workers.
Feb 2006 - Nigerian forces attack targets in the Niger Delta by helicopter gunship and militants fire back with rockets as the conflict escalates.
Oct 2006 - Militants in speed boats attack soldiers escorting a convoy supplying oilfields, killing five. Days later, militants kill 17 soldiers in two separate gun battles.
June 2007 - After new President Umaru Yar'Adua takes office, a court frees former militia leader Mujahid Dokubo-Asari on bail. He had been in jail since 2005.
Sept 2007 - Suspected militant leader Henry Okah arrested in Angola, prompting MEND to pull out of talks. He was extradited to Nigeria to face treason charges in Feb. 2008.
Feb 2008 - A group of influential rebels and activists say they want to resume peace talks with the government but MEND stays out.
April 2008 - Angola temporarily surpasses Nigeria as Africa's top oil producer because of the Niger Delta outages.
June 2008 - MEND attacks Shell's Bonga oilfield, 120 km (75 miles) offshore, the furthest it has struck in Nigeria's deep waters.
July 2008 - Top U.N. official Ibrahim Gambari resigns as head of committee organising peace talks after Niger Delta leaders criticise his role under past dictator.
Sept. 10, 2008 - Yar'Adua approves creation of a new ministry for the Niger Delta, but militants are dismissive of the idea.
Sept 14, 2008 - MEND declare an "oil war" in the Niger Delta after two days of gunbattles with security forces.
(Reuters)
Chevron Idama Platform Hit
US oil giant Chevron yesterday confirmed a shooting around its Idama platform in the Niger Delta region.
A statement on the company's website quoted it as saying, "Chevron Nigeria Limited can confirm reports of shooting in the area of its Idama facilities, Rivers State, at about 1.00 a.m. (0000 GMT) (yesterday). The attack had been reported to the appropriate government authorities and investigation is ongoing".
There were conflicting versions of what actually happened at Idama. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said five of its scouts on a recce around the Idama flowstation, were involved in a minor skirmish with nervous soldiers guarding the station".
The statement also quoted a Nigerian military officer as saying yesterday that his men had repelled an attempt to blow up a Chevron facility overnight.
The company said it was monitoring the situation closely."We can confirm that no CNL (Chevron Nigeria Limited) employee was hurt as a result of the incident. There are no expatriates on the Idama platform and none was involved in the incident," the company said.
"At this time, we do not have information to suggest that the attack was directed specifically at Chevron," it continued.
In terms of production, Chevron said the Idama facility had been shut-in prior to the incident as a result of on-going pipeline repair work. "The shooting incident has not had any additional impact on current levels of CNL production", the statement noted.
Since Saturday, when MEND first evoked a possible oil war, the group has claimed two attacks on Royal Dutch Shell facilities which resulted in the company evacuating 100 of its workers from the area.
(allAfrica.com)
A statement on the company's website quoted it as saying, "Chevron Nigeria Limited can confirm reports of shooting in the area of its Idama facilities, Rivers State, at about 1.00 a.m. (0000 GMT) (yesterday). The attack had been reported to the appropriate government authorities and investigation is ongoing".
There were conflicting versions of what actually happened at Idama. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said five of its scouts on a recce around the Idama flowstation, were involved in a minor skirmish with nervous soldiers guarding the station".
The statement also quoted a Nigerian military officer as saying yesterday that his men had repelled an attempt to blow up a Chevron facility overnight.
The company said it was monitoring the situation closely."We can confirm that no CNL (Chevron Nigeria Limited) employee was hurt as a result of the incident. There are no expatriates on the Idama platform and none was involved in the incident," the company said.
"At this time, we do not have information to suggest that the attack was directed specifically at Chevron," it continued.
In terms of production, Chevron said the Idama facility had been shut-in prior to the incident as a result of on-going pipeline repair work. "The shooting incident has not had any additional impact on current levels of CNL production", the statement noted.
Since Saturday, when MEND first evoked a possible oil war, the group has claimed two attacks on Royal Dutch Shell facilities which resulted in the company evacuating 100 of its workers from the area.
(allAfrica.com)
More Oil Facilities Reportedly Hit
Armed Nigerian militants who have declared an "oil war" in the restive south of the country claimed Wednesday to have blown up a major pipeline in their latest attack on oil installations in the region.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent of the groups operating in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta, said it blew up a pipeline it believes is operated by Royal Dutch Shell and Italy's Agip.
"A very major trunk crude oil pipeline we believe may belong to both Agip and Shell has been blown up today... at about 9:30 am (0830 GMT)... at Rumuekpe, in Rivers state," said MEND in a statement emailed to the media.
The latest attack, a rare daylight one, was not immediately confirmed by the military deployed in the region.
Hours earlier MEND reported having acted with a new ally to have which destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell oil flow station in the African nation's main producing region.
As with other attacks since they declared an "oil war" on Sunday, the rebels moved in with speed boats, dynamite and hand grenades in their attack on the Orubiri flow station, the army said.
The attack on Orubiri was the third on a Shell target in 48 hours. US Chevron has also seen attacks close to its installations this week.
MEND said that it attacked the Orubiri facility along with another militant group, the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF).
"About 2200 (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, fighters from MEND and the NDVF ... attacked and destroyed the Orubiri flow station," MEND said.
Shell made no immediate comment.
MEND said it killed all the soldiers on guard at the Orubiri facility and took their weapons. The army denied the claim, saying none of the 10 naval personnel or guards on duty died or sustained injuries.
MEND renewed a warning to soldiers and oil workers to abandon all oil installations, including deep offshore.
"Soldiers and oil workers are advised to abandon all oil facilities including the offshore rigs of Bonga and Agbami as we want to minimize casualties before Hurricane Barbarossa arrives," the group said.
Hurricane Barbarossa is the code name MEND has given to its new offensive against foreign majors.
MEND attacked Shell's flagship Bonga field in June, while Agbami is another deep offshore field operated by Chevron which only recently came online.
So far only Rivers state is affected, but MEND warned it would spread its attacks to neighbouring states.
As well as Orubiri and the latest pipeline, they have affected a Shell flow station at Alakiri and another pipeline, as well as Chevron facilities at Robertkiri and Idama.
Lieutenant-Colonel Rabe Abubakar, spokesman of the special military unit policing the two other neighbouring oil states of Bayelsa and Delta, has warned that any attack on oil facilities there "will be met with grave consequences".
He said the unit "will not fold its hands and watch the senseless destruction of national economic assets ...(by) unpatriotic elements".
MEND says it is fighting for local people to get a greater share of the huge oil revenues. It declared war on the oil industry at the weekend in response to what it said was an unprovoked attack by the army on one of its positions.
Since MEND took up arms in early 2006, Nigeria's oil output has been cut by at least one quarter as a consequence of kidnappings and sabotage in the Delta.
Two South African hostages seized last week by pirates with 25 other people on a vessel off southern Nigeria were freed Tuesday night, the military said. Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Sagir told AFP no ransom was paid.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent of the groups operating in the creeks and swamps of the Niger Delta, said it blew up a pipeline it believes is operated by Royal Dutch Shell and Italy's Agip.
"A very major trunk crude oil pipeline we believe may belong to both Agip and Shell has been blown up today... at about 9:30 am (0830 GMT)... at Rumuekpe, in Rivers state," said MEND in a statement emailed to the media.
The latest attack, a rare daylight one, was not immediately confirmed by the military deployed in the region.
Hours earlier MEND reported having acted with a new ally to have which destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell oil flow station in the African nation's main producing region.
As with other attacks since they declared an "oil war" on Sunday, the rebels moved in with speed boats, dynamite and hand grenades in their attack on the Orubiri flow station, the army said.
The attack on Orubiri was the third on a Shell target in 48 hours. US Chevron has also seen attacks close to its installations this week.
MEND said that it attacked the Orubiri facility along with another militant group, the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF).
"About 2200 (2100 GMT) on Tuesday, September 16, 2008, fighters from MEND and the NDVF ... attacked and destroyed the Orubiri flow station," MEND said.
Shell made no immediate comment.
MEND said it killed all the soldiers on guard at the Orubiri facility and took their weapons. The army denied the claim, saying none of the 10 naval personnel or guards on duty died or sustained injuries.
MEND renewed a warning to soldiers and oil workers to abandon all oil installations, including deep offshore.
"Soldiers and oil workers are advised to abandon all oil facilities including the offshore rigs of Bonga and Agbami as we want to minimize casualties before Hurricane Barbarossa arrives," the group said.
Hurricane Barbarossa is the code name MEND has given to its new offensive against foreign majors.
MEND attacked Shell's flagship Bonga field in June, while Agbami is another deep offshore field operated by Chevron which only recently came online.
So far only Rivers state is affected, but MEND warned it would spread its attacks to neighbouring states.
As well as Orubiri and the latest pipeline, they have affected a Shell flow station at Alakiri and another pipeline, as well as Chevron facilities at Robertkiri and Idama.
Lieutenant-Colonel Rabe Abubakar, spokesman of the special military unit policing the two other neighbouring oil states of Bayelsa and Delta, has warned that any attack on oil facilities there "will be met with grave consequences".
He said the unit "will not fold its hands and watch the senseless destruction of national economic assets ...(by) unpatriotic elements".
MEND says it is fighting for local people to get a greater share of the huge oil revenues. It declared war on the oil industry at the weekend in response to what it said was an unprovoked attack by the army on one of its positions.
Since MEND took up arms in early 2006, Nigeria's oil output has been cut by at least one quarter as a consequence of kidnappings and sabotage in the Delta.
Two South African hostages seized last week by pirates with 25 other people on a vessel off southern Nigeria were freed Tuesday night, the military said. Military spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Musa Sagir told AFP no ransom was paid.
MEND Steps up War
Militants have attacked another oil facility in Nigeria's Delta region, after "declaring war" at the weekend.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it had destroyed Shell's Orubiri flow-station.
"Militants in eight speed boats attacked Orubiri with bombs, dynamite and hand grenades," said military spokesman Lt Col Sagir Musa.
This is the fourth attack this week. Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% due to the unrest.
Col Musa told Reuters news agency that no soldiers had been killed in the attack.
Militants also claimed to have blown up a major oil pipeline at Rumuekpe in Rivers State, but the military could not confirm the attack.
Hostages not free
The BBC's Andrew Walker in Nigeria says the recent fighting has been the heaviest in two years between militants and security forces.
Mend says it has killed at least 29 people, mostly soldiers, although this has been denied by the military.
Two other Shell facilities have been attacked, while a raid on one owned by Chevron was fought off on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the military said two South African hostages captured on the weekend had been released, but this has been denied by Mend.
The South Africans were among 27, including two Britons, seized from an oil services ship on Saturday.
The other workers were Nigerians, Mend said.
"For the avoidance of doubt Mend wishes to state we still have custody of the two South African Hostages," an e-mail to journalists said.
The group also said the hostages would be used as a "human shield" during their handover, which Mend said would happen soon.
On Monday a British oil worker was seized in the Delta's main city, Port Harcourt.
Mend said it was "declaring war" in response to attacks by the military, which it said had left seven of its fighters dead on Saturday.
Some 200 foreign oil workers have been taken hostage in recent years.
Almost all have been freed, normally in return for a ransom, although this is always officially denied.
The militants claim to be fighting for the rights of inhabitants of the oil-producing Niger Delta, who mostly live in poverty.
But many say they are criminal gangs out to extort money from oil companies.
(BBC)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it had destroyed Shell's Orubiri flow-station.
"Militants in eight speed boats attacked Orubiri with bombs, dynamite and hand grenades," said military spokesman Lt Col Sagir Musa.
This is the fourth attack this week. Nigeria's oil production has been cut by 20% due to the unrest.
Col Musa told Reuters news agency that no soldiers had been killed in the attack.
Militants also claimed to have blown up a major oil pipeline at Rumuekpe in Rivers State, but the military could not confirm the attack.
Hostages not free
The BBC's Andrew Walker in Nigeria says the recent fighting has been the heaviest in two years between militants and security forces.
Mend says it has killed at least 29 people, mostly soldiers, although this has been denied by the military.
Two other Shell facilities have been attacked, while a raid on one owned by Chevron was fought off on Tuesday.
On Tuesday, the military said two South African hostages captured on the weekend had been released, but this has been denied by Mend.
The South Africans were among 27, including two Britons, seized from an oil services ship on Saturday.
The other workers were Nigerians, Mend said.
"For the avoidance of doubt Mend wishes to state we still have custody of the two South African Hostages," an e-mail to journalists said.
The group also said the hostages would be used as a "human shield" during their handover, which Mend said would happen soon.
On Monday a British oil worker was seized in the Delta's main city, Port Harcourt.
Mend said it was "declaring war" in response to attacks by the military, which it said had left seven of its fighters dead on Saturday.
Some 200 foreign oil workers have been taken hostage in recent years.
Almost all have been freed, normally in return for a ransom, although this is always officially denied.
The militants claim to be fighting for the rights of inhabitants of the oil-producing Niger Delta, who mostly live in poverty.
But many say they are criminal gangs out to extort money from oil companies.
(BBC)
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
MEND Agrees to Release S. African Hostages
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), the most prominent rebel group in Nigeria's oil-rich south, agreed on Monday to released two South African hostages at the "earliest convenience".
According to a statement received here late Monday, MEND said that Mrs. Azuka Okah, wife of detained activist and MEND's former commander, Henry Okah, has sent a passionate appeal for MEND's assistance towards the release of the two South African hostages.
The statement said they were impressed by the South African government's respect for the rule of law as Azuka Okah has received respect and hospitality when she and her children are in South Africa.
"MEND will be reciprocating the gesture by releasing the two hostages to the care of the South African government representative at the earliest convenience after working out the modalities including safety concerns since the creek is now a war zone," said the statement.
According to the statement, two South Africans were kidnapped by pirates in Rivers state and was rescued by MEND.
The two South Africans, along with two Britons and a Ukrainian, were abducted on Sept. 10 when boarded on an oil supply vessel operating in waters within Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta region.
MEND, who is in intensive fight with Nigerian government forces, said Saturday that 27 hostages, including the five foreign oil workers, have been trapped in fighting zone in Eleme-Tombia, a riverside community in the Degema council area of Rivers State.
The battle, starting on early Saturday, is still going on, leaving about 30 dead and several oil facilities blown up.
Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of natural resources, especially oil, through way of kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, which have led to about 25 percent oil production drop compared with the country's peak oil output of 2.6 million barrels per day.
(China News Agency)
According to a statement received here late Monday, MEND said that Mrs. Azuka Okah, wife of detained activist and MEND's former commander, Henry Okah, has sent a passionate appeal for MEND's assistance towards the release of the two South African hostages.
The statement said they were impressed by the South African government's respect for the rule of law as Azuka Okah has received respect and hospitality when she and her children are in South Africa.
"MEND will be reciprocating the gesture by releasing the two hostages to the care of the South African government representative at the earliest convenience after working out the modalities including safety concerns since the creek is now a war zone," said the statement.
According to the statement, two South Africans were kidnapped by pirates in Rivers state and was rescued by MEND.
The two South Africans, along with two Britons and a Ukrainian, were abducted on Sept. 10 when boarded on an oil supply vessel operating in waters within Nigeria's volatile Niger Delta region.
MEND, who is in intensive fight with Nigerian government forces, said Saturday that 27 hostages, including the five foreign oil workers, have been trapped in fighting zone in Eleme-Tombia, a riverside community in the Degema council area of Rivers State.
The battle, starting on early Saturday, is still going on, leaving about 30 dead and several oil facilities blown up.
Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of natural resources, especially oil, through way of kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, which have led to about 25 percent oil production drop compared with the country's peak oil output of 2.6 million barrels per day.
(China News Agency)
Brit Taken Hostage
A group of five gunmen have kidnapped a British national in southern Nigeria, reports say.
The hostage, a former employee of the petrochemicals firm Indo Rama, was seized late on Monday in Port Harcourt, sources said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, the heart of the country's oil sector, since early 2006.
Almost all have been released unharmed.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told Sky News officials were investigating the report, but could not give further details.
It came as militants launched assaults on two oil installations in the delta in the heaviest fighting there in two years.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of the OPEC member's output since early 2006, attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil pipeline and Chevron-operated oilfield.
A spokesman for the group said: "A major crude oil pipeline... belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company was destroyed with high explosives."
A Shell spokesman confirmed the attack to the AFP news agency.
"We can confirm that a section of the Greater Port Harcourt Swamp Line at Bakana, Rivers State, was attacked last night (September 15)," Precious Okolobo said.
Some security sources in the oil industry estimate more than 100 people may have been killed by the clashes, which have spread to at least seven villages in the state of Rivers.
The military says militants have incurred "heavy losses", but declined to elaborate.
MEND says at least 29 people, most of them soldiers, have died.
Militants have bombed pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields, shutting up to 115,000 barrels per day of oil production in the last four days, government officials said.
(Sky News)
The hostage, a former employee of the petrochemicals firm Indo Rama, was seized late on Monday in Port Harcourt, sources said.
No group has yet claimed responsibility.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in the Niger Delta, the heart of the country's oil sector, since early 2006.
Almost all have been released unharmed.
A spokesman for the British Foreign Office told Sky News officials were investigating the report, but could not give further details.
It came as militants launched assaults on two oil installations in the delta in the heaviest fighting there in two years.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), responsible for attacks that have cut a fifth of the OPEC member's output since early 2006, attacked a Royal Dutch Shell oil pipeline and Chevron-operated oilfield.
A spokesman for the group said: "A major crude oil pipeline... belonging to the Shell Petroleum Development Company was destroyed with high explosives."
A Shell spokesman confirmed the attack to the AFP news agency.
"We can confirm that a section of the Greater Port Harcourt Swamp Line at Bakana, Rivers State, was attacked last night (September 15)," Precious Okolobo said.
Some security sources in the oil industry estimate more than 100 people may have been killed by the clashes, which have spread to at least seven villages in the state of Rivers.
The military says militants have incurred "heavy losses", but declined to elaborate.
MEND says at least 29 people, most of them soldiers, have died.
Militants have bombed pipelines, platforms, gas plants and oilfields, shutting up to 115,000 barrels per day of oil production in the last four days, government officials said.
(Sky News)
MEND Say Shell Pipeline 'Destroyed'
A Nigerian rebel group says it has blown up and destroyed a Royal Dutch Shell pipeline in the latest attack in its "oil war" on western firms.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) also said it would soon release two South African hostages it rescued from pirates.
Neither Nigerian authorities nor Shell immediately confirmed the pipeline raid, but MEND has already attacked a Shell flow station since declaring its war on Sunday. It attacked a Chevron facility hours before the declaration.
MEND is the most prominent armed group in the Delta region which says it is fighting for local people to get a greater share of the huge oil revenues. Its campaign over the past five years has already cut Nigeria's oil production by a quarter.
"A major crude oil pipeline at Bakana Front in Degema Local Government Area ... was destroyed with high explosives by MEND detonation engineers backed by heavily-armed fighters," MEND said in an email statement to the media.
Bakana is in Rivers State, the heart of the oil region. The two previous attacks, one on Shell's Alakiri flowstation and the other on a Chevron facility at Robertkiri, are in the same state.
MEND declared an all-out war on the oil industry at the weekend in response to what it said was an unprovoked attack by the Nigerian military on one of its positions on Saturday.
The group said the two South Africans would be freed "at the earliest convenience." The South Africans were among 27 people, also including 22 Nigerians and three people who are British or Ukrainian - it rescued from pirates on Friday.
MEND said it was persuaded to release the two by an appeal from Azuka Okah, wife of Henry Okah, one of the group's leaders detained in secret in the centre of Nigeria.
(AFP)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) also said it would soon release two South African hostages it rescued from pirates.
Neither Nigerian authorities nor Shell immediately confirmed the pipeline raid, but MEND has already attacked a Shell flow station since declaring its war on Sunday. It attacked a Chevron facility hours before the declaration.
MEND is the most prominent armed group in the Delta region which says it is fighting for local people to get a greater share of the huge oil revenues. Its campaign over the past five years has already cut Nigeria's oil production by a quarter.
"A major crude oil pipeline at Bakana Front in Degema Local Government Area ... was destroyed with high explosives by MEND detonation engineers backed by heavily-armed fighters," MEND said in an email statement to the media.
Bakana is in Rivers State, the heart of the oil region. The two previous attacks, one on Shell's Alakiri flowstation and the other on a Chevron facility at Robertkiri, are in the same state.
MEND declared an all-out war on the oil industry at the weekend in response to what it said was an unprovoked attack by the Nigerian military on one of its positions on Saturday.
The group said the two South Africans would be freed "at the earliest convenience." The South Africans were among 27 people, also including 22 Nigerians and three people who are British or Ukrainian - it rescued from pirates on Friday.
MEND said it was persuaded to release the two by an appeal from Azuka Okah, wife of Henry Okah, one of the group's leaders detained in secret in the centre of Nigeria.
(AFP)
Oil Output Down
Nigeria, the world's eighth largest oil exporter, is pumping around 2.1 million barrels per day, down from last week after a fresh wave of militant attacks, a senior oil official said on Tuesday.
'Production had been at around 2.2 million barrels per day. We are now at 2.1 (million),' a senior official with the state-oil firm NNPC told Reuters.
Government officials on Monday said up to 115,000 bpd of oil production may have been halted in the last four days.
(Forbes)
'Production had been at around 2.2 million barrels per day. We are now at 2.1 (million),' a senior official with the state-oil firm NNPC told Reuters.
Government officials on Monday said up to 115,000 bpd of oil production may have been halted in the last four days.
(Forbes)
Sunday, September 14, 2008
MEND Claims Clashes Continue
The main militant group in Nigeria's southern oil region declared a state of war Sunday after two days of clashes with the armed forces, raising the specter of a stepped-up conflict in Africa's oil giant.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has mostly focused on hobbling Nigeria's oil industry since it emerged nearly three years ago, bombing pipelines in hopes of forcing the federal government to send more revenues to the impoverished oil-producing south.
But a military task force involving marine, land and air forces has stepped up its anti-militant activities in recent weeks, and the militant group said that two days of relatively rare ground battles with the military meant the region was in a state of war.
"Following a previous warning that any attack on our positions will be tantamount to a declaration of an oil war, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has declared an oil war," said a statement from the group, known by its acronym MEND.
It was unclear if the declaration would have any real effect on the ground in the Niger Delta. Neither side has sought a full-blown civil war, although Nigerian media have reported that some elements in the military were pushing for more-robust attacks on the militants.
MEND is a loose alliance of militant and criminal gangs who steal Nigerian oil for sale overseas.
Most fighting is focused on hitting the oil industry, but a full-scale conflict with the military could leave the country's oil-pumping infrastructure in tatters, while jeopardizing the militants' own lucrative oil trade.
International oil companies would struggle to maintain the thousands of miles (kilometers) of pipelines connecting wells to export terminals. A shutdown of all oil production from Nigeria, one of the world's top producers and an OPEC member, would cause further spikes in oil prices.
The militants, who analysts say are motivated by money as well as politics, say they want more federally held oil funds for their states, which remain impoverished despite five decades of production in Africa's oil giant. Their attacks have cut about one-fifth of Nigeria's normal oil output, helping send crude prices to all-time highs in international markets.
On Sunday, militants said they attacked soldiers protecting sites run by Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell — payback for a rare ground battle Saturday when the armed forces attacked a militant base camp. The militants said seven of their fighters died in the Saturday attack.
Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the military task force charged with calming the Niger Delta, said unknown fighters battled soldiers Sunday near two sites operated by Chevron and Shell in Rivers State. The militants said Sunday's fighting had killed 22 troops, but Musa denied that claim.
Representatives for Shell and Chevron said the companies were investigating reports of an incident and had no immediate comment.
The militants also said they blew up other pieces of oil infrastructure, but those claims couldn't be immediately verified. The group warned international oil companies to stay away from the region.
"All international oil and gas loading vessels entering the region are warned to drop anchor in the high sea or divert elsewhere until further notice. Failure to comply is taking a foolhardy risk of attack and destruction of the vessel," the group said.
The militants said they had attacked a military outpost in recent weeks, killing 29 military personnel in response to alleged killings of civilians. The government denied that any attacks took place. The accounts could not be independently verified.
Large-scale battles between the militants and military are rare. While the military often skirmishes with gunmen during chance boat encounters on the region's waterways, it has avoided major attacks on militant camps and other permanent positions.
The militants generally avoid the armed forces, sticking to the back creeks of the delta as they roam the region. The weekend's battles are unusual examples of clashes between massed forces.
(International Herald Tribune)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has mostly focused on hobbling Nigeria's oil industry since it emerged nearly three years ago, bombing pipelines in hopes of forcing the federal government to send more revenues to the impoverished oil-producing south.
But a military task force involving marine, land and air forces has stepped up its anti-militant activities in recent weeks, and the militant group said that two days of relatively rare ground battles with the military meant the region was in a state of war.
"Following a previous warning that any attack on our positions will be tantamount to a declaration of an oil war, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta has declared an oil war," said a statement from the group, known by its acronym MEND.
It was unclear if the declaration would have any real effect on the ground in the Niger Delta. Neither side has sought a full-blown civil war, although Nigerian media have reported that some elements in the military were pushing for more-robust attacks on the militants.
MEND is a loose alliance of militant and criminal gangs who steal Nigerian oil for sale overseas.
Most fighting is focused on hitting the oil industry, but a full-scale conflict with the military could leave the country's oil-pumping infrastructure in tatters, while jeopardizing the militants' own lucrative oil trade.
International oil companies would struggle to maintain the thousands of miles (kilometers) of pipelines connecting wells to export terminals. A shutdown of all oil production from Nigeria, one of the world's top producers and an OPEC member, would cause further spikes in oil prices.
The militants, who analysts say are motivated by money as well as politics, say they want more federally held oil funds for their states, which remain impoverished despite five decades of production in Africa's oil giant. Their attacks have cut about one-fifth of Nigeria's normal oil output, helping send crude prices to all-time highs in international markets.
On Sunday, militants said they attacked soldiers protecting sites run by Chevron Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell — payback for a rare ground battle Saturday when the armed forces attacked a militant base camp. The militants said seven of their fighters died in the Saturday attack.
Lt. Col. Sagir Musa, a spokesman for the military task force charged with calming the Niger Delta, said unknown fighters battled soldiers Sunday near two sites operated by Chevron and Shell in Rivers State. The militants said Sunday's fighting had killed 22 troops, but Musa denied that claim.
Representatives for Shell and Chevron said the companies were investigating reports of an incident and had no immediate comment.
The militants also said they blew up other pieces of oil infrastructure, but those claims couldn't be immediately verified. The group warned international oil companies to stay away from the region.
"All international oil and gas loading vessels entering the region are warned to drop anchor in the high sea or divert elsewhere until further notice. Failure to comply is taking a foolhardy risk of attack and destruction of the vessel," the group said.
The militants said they had attacked a military outpost in recent weeks, killing 29 military personnel in response to alleged killings of civilians. The government denied that any attacks took place. The accounts could not be independently verified.
Large-scale battles between the militants and military are rare. While the military often skirmishes with gunmen during chance boat encounters on the region's waterways, it has avoided major attacks on militant camps and other permanent positions.
The militants generally avoid the armed forces, sticking to the back creeks of the delta as they roam the region. The weekend's battles are unusual examples of clashes between massed forces.
(International Herald Tribune)
Chevron Reports Attack
Chevron Corp. (CVX) Sunday said it has received reports of shooting near its Nigerian facilities, adding two contractors might have died but that it was unclear if the company was the target of the attack.
In an e-mail to Dow Jones Newswires, a Chevron spokesman said that, at about 0200 AM Sunday, it "received reports of shooting in the area of its Robertkiri facilities, Rivers State." "The attack has been reported to the appropriate government authorities and investigation is ongoing," the spokesman added. Chevron didn't specify where the reports emanated from. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the region's largest militant group, said earlier Sunday it had attacked a Chevron oil facility. Agence France Presse quoted a Nigerian army spokesman as saying its men had repelled the attack.
In a subsequent e-mail, the Chevron spokesman said: "We don't have information to suggest that the attack was directed specifically at Chevron." He added no Chevron Nigeria "employee was hurt as a result of this incident, but initial reports suggest that 2 employees of a local marine vessel supply company, Dahnariq Nigeria Ltd - which supplies small vessels to (Chevron Nigeria) operations, might have died.
Attacks on the oil industry by Nigerian militants seeking a better distribution of oil revenue have taken place for years. But MEND Saturday called for an escalation of its operations, claiming the Nigerian army had started a wide-scale offensive against the group.
(Dow Jones)
In an e-mail to Dow Jones Newswires, a Chevron spokesman said that, at about 0200 AM Sunday, it "received reports of shooting in the area of its Robertkiri facilities, Rivers State." "The attack has been reported to the appropriate government authorities and investigation is ongoing," the spokesman added. Chevron didn't specify where the reports emanated from. The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, the region's largest militant group, said earlier Sunday it had attacked a Chevron oil facility. Agence France Presse quoted a Nigerian army spokesman as saying its men had repelled the attack.
In a subsequent e-mail, the Chevron spokesman said: "We don't have information to suggest that the attack was directed specifically at Chevron." He added no Chevron Nigeria "employee was hurt as a result of this incident, but initial reports suggest that 2 employees of a local marine vessel supply company, Dahnariq Nigeria Ltd - which supplies small vessels to (Chevron Nigeria) operations, might have died.
Attacks on the oil industry by Nigerian militants seeking a better distribution of oil revenue have taken place for years. But MEND Saturday called for an escalation of its operations, claiming the Nigerian army had started a wide-scale offensive against the group.
(Dow Jones)
MEND Warns of Oil War
Militants in Nigeria's oil-rich Niger Delta region say they have "declared war" on the government after battling security forces guarding facilities.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it was responding to attacks by the military.
The military said it had repelled several Mend attacks. Both sides say their opponents suffered heavy losses.
Mend's violent campaign for a bigger part of the area's oil wealth has cut Nigeria's oil output by more than 20%.
Mend militants are the largest of several armed groups operating in the impoverished delta region. They frequently kidnap foreign oil workers and sabotage oil installations and pipelines.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'adua is under pressure to crack down on the militants and make the delta safer for international oil firms.
Lawless region
In an email released by Mend, the group said it had launched an "oil war" on the government in response to what it described as unprovoked aerial attacks on its bases in the Niger Delta.
The group said its heavily-armed fighters had fanned out in hundreds of boats to attack oil installations in Rivers state.
"The operation will continue until the government of Nigeria appreciates that the solution to peace in the Niger Delta is justice, respect and dialogue," the group said.
An oil platform at Kula, operated by oil giant Chevron, was among the facilities targeted, Mend said, adding that 22 Nigerian troops had been killed in the attack.
A Nigerian military spokesman said they had repelled an attack on an oil platform operated by the US company, Chevron. He said the militants had suffered heavy casualties.
The Niger Delta region is the source of most of the Nigerian government's income, yet it remains blighted by poverty and corruption.
(BBC)
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend) said it was responding to attacks by the military.
The military said it had repelled several Mend attacks. Both sides say their opponents suffered heavy losses.
Mend's violent campaign for a bigger part of the area's oil wealth has cut Nigeria's oil output by more than 20%.
Mend militants are the largest of several armed groups operating in the impoverished delta region. They frequently kidnap foreign oil workers and sabotage oil installations and pipelines.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'adua is under pressure to crack down on the militants and make the delta safer for international oil firms.
Lawless region
In an email released by Mend, the group said it had launched an "oil war" on the government in response to what it described as unprovoked aerial attacks on its bases in the Niger Delta.
The group said its heavily-armed fighters had fanned out in hundreds of boats to attack oil installations in Rivers state.
"The operation will continue until the government of Nigeria appreciates that the solution to peace in the Niger Delta is justice, respect and dialogue," the group said.
An oil platform at Kula, operated by oil giant Chevron, was among the facilities targeted, Mend said, adding that 22 Nigerian troops had been killed in the attack.
A Nigerian military spokesman said they had repelled an attack on an oil platform operated by the US company, Chevron. He said the militants had suffered heavy casualties.
The Niger Delta region is the source of most of the Nigerian government's income, yet it remains blighted by poverty and corruption.
(BBC)
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Militants Battle Nigerian Forces
Militants battled Nigerian armed forces in the country's southern oil region Saturday and threatened to launch reprisal raids on the oil infrastructure in Africa's biggest crude producer.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta told The Associated Press in a statement that the Nigerian army and navy attacked their positions in a surprise raid on Rivers State, pouring in ground troops from landing craft and bombing their fighters from jet planes and helicopters. They said three militants were killed.
Lt. Col. Sagir Musa of the military task force charged with calming the restive oil region confirmed an armed engagement Saturday, saying it was a response to an ambush by militants. Musa, however, said aircraft were only providing reconnaisance and had no details on casualties.
The militants vowed they would retaliate for the raid by striking back against Nigeria's oil industry, Africa's largest, and warned foreign workers to vacate the southern Niger Delta.
"Oil companies are warned to move out their workers within the next 24 hours because a hurricane is about to sweep through oil installations in the entire Niger Delta region," the statement said.
The militants are behind nearly three years of rising violence in the southern Niger Delta. They say their deeply impoverished areas haven't benefited from five decades of oil production and they're agitating for more federally held oil funds to be sent to the southern oil states.The government acknowledges the grievances of many in the southern Niger Delta, but denounces the militants as criminals who use their struggle as a cover to make money from stealing crude oil and sell it overseas.
Corrupt government officials, however, also siphon off and sell oil and many state-level politicians are linked to the militants and other armed gangs, who they hire to rig elections.The militants said in recent weeks they had attacked a military outpost, killing 29 military personnel in response to alleged killings of civilians. The government denied that any attacks took place.
The accounts couldn't be independently verified.Still, large-scale battles between the militants and military are rare. While military often skirmishes with gunmen during chance encounters, it has avoided launching fuller-scale attacks on militant camps and other positions.For their part, the militants generally avoid the armed forces in the region, sticking to the back creeks of the delta and focusing their violence on the oil industry.Neither side appears to seek a full-blown civil war.
Analysts see a wider armed struggle as a nightmare scenario for Nigeria's oil infrastructure, which is largely unguarded and vulnerable to sabotage by militants who frequently destroy pipelines and cut production. That sends the price of oil higher in international markets.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta told The Associated Press in a statement that the Nigerian army and navy attacked their positions in a surprise raid on Rivers State, pouring in ground troops from landing craft and bombing their fighters from jet planes and helicopters. They said three militants were killed.
Lt. Col. Sagir Musa of the military task force charged with calming the restive oil region confirmed an armed engagement Saturday, saying it was a response to an ambush by militants. Musa, however, said aircraft were only providing reconnaisance and had no details on casualties.
The militants vowed they would retaliate for the raid by striking back against Nigeria's oil industry, Africa's largest, and warned foreign workers to vacate the southern Niger Delta.
"Oil companies are warned to move out their workers within the next 24 hours because a hurricane is about to sweep through oil installations in the entire Niger Delta region," the statement said.
The militants are behind nearly three years of rising violence in the southern Niger Delta. They say their deeply impoverished areas haven't benefited from five decades of oil production and they're agitating for more federally held oil funds to be sent to the southern oil states.The government acknowledges the grievances of many in the southern Niger Delta, but denounces the militants as criminals who use their struggle as a cover to make money from stealing crude oil and sell it overseas.
Corrupt government officials, however, also siphon off and sell oil and many state-level politicians are linked to the militants and other armed gangs, who they hire to rig elections.The militants said in recent weeks they had attacked a military outpost, killing 29 military personnel in response to alleged killings of civilians. The government denied that any attacks took place.
The accounts couldn't be independently verified.Still, large-scale battles between the militants and military are rare. While military often skirmishes with gunmen during chance encounters, it has avoided launching fuller-scale attacks on militant camps and other positions.For their part, the militants generally avoid the armed forces in the region, sticking to the back creeks of the delta and focusing their violence on the oil industry.Neither side appears to seek a full-blown civil war.
Analysts see a wider armed struggle as a nightmare scenario for Nigeria's oil infrastructure, which is largely unguarded and vulnerable to sabotage by militants who frequently destroy pipelines and cut production. That sends the price of oil higher in international markets.
MEND Claims Government Attacks Intensified
Nigerian government forces have launched full scale attack on militant camps in the country's southeastern Rivers State, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), an active militant group operating in the region, said in a statement received here on Saturday.
"At about 0900 Hrs today, September 13, 2008, the armed forces of Nigeria began a full scale aerial and marine offensive on the MEND positions and neighboring Ijaw communities in Rivers State with helicopter gunships, jet fighters and over 20 gun boats and landing crafts filled with heavily armed soldiers mainly from the northern axis of Nigeria," said the statement.
"All MEND positions in the Niger delta will respond to this unprovoked attack coming at a time the government is canvassing the so-called Niger Delta Ministry to hoodwink the people," it said.
The statement also revealed that civilians near the camps were under attacks from government forces.
Oil companies are warned to move out their workers within the next 24 hours, "because a hurricane is about to sweep through oil installations in the entire Niger Delta region."
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua Wednesday reshuffled his cabinet and created a new Ministry of Niger Delta, vowing to promote development and peace in the country's oil-producing area.
Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of natural resources, especially oil, through way of kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, which have led to about 25 percent oil production drop compared with the country's peak oil output of 2.6 million barrels per day.
"At about 0900 Hrs today, September 13, 2008, the armed forces of Nigeria began a full scale aerial and marine offensive on the MEND positions and neighboring Ijaw communities in Rivers State with helicopter gunships, jet fighters and over 20 gun boats and landing crafts filled with heavily armed soldiers mainly from the northern axis of Nigeria," said the statement.
"All MEND positions in the Niger delta will respond to this unprovoked attack coming at a time the government is canvassing the so-called Niger Delta Ministry to hoodwink the people," it said.
The statement also revealed that civilians near the camps were under attacks from government forces.
Oil companies are warned to move out their workers within the next 24 hours, "because a hurricane is about to sweep through oil installations in the entire Niger Delta region."
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua Wednesday reshuffled his cabinet and created a new Ministry of Niger Delta, vowing to promote development and peace in the country's oil-producing area.
Since the beginning of 2006, militant groups emerged in Niger Delta region, fighting for more local control of natural resources, especially oil, through way of kidnapping oil workers and attacks on oil facilities.
More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped and a string of attacks on oil pipelines, wells and terminals have been registered by now, which have led to about 25 percent oil production drop compared with the country's peak oil output of 2.6 million barrels per day.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Film Maker Freed
An award-winning American filmmaker arrested and imprisoned on spying charges was freed by the Nigerian State Security Service Tuesday, after an international campaign pressed authorities for his release. His translator continues to be interrogated.
Andrew Berends, a recipient of the International Documentary Association's Courage Under Fire award for his work in Iraq, had been living in Nigeria since April making a film about daily life in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where the activities of multinational corporations like Chevron and Shell Oil have provoked the ire of human rights groups.
In the last 10 years, military factions acting on behalf of multinational oil companies have killed more than 2,000 people in the Niger Delta, says the San Francisco-based nonprofit group Global Exchange, whose "Freedom from Oil" campaign aims to expose the negative consequences of Americans' oil consumption.
It is unclear if Berends will now be able to complete work on his film.
According to Berends' co-producer Aaron Soffin, Berends and his translator, Sam George, were arrested in the Delta's main city, Port Harcourt, Friday as they filmed "fishing boats coming in and women walking with their products to market."
Soffin said the two were imprisoned and interrogated by Nigerian police, military, and state security officers for 36 hours straight without food, water, or sleep. Their incarceration drew an immediate condemnation from international press freedom groups Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists and from Berends' home-state senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer.
Four days after his arrest, Berends was transferred to the Nigerian capital Abuja and turned over to the custody of the U.S. Embassy, but was forced to report to the Nigerian State Security Service for additional interrogation. On Tuesday night local time, Berends was on a plane out of the country after receiving deportation papers.
At the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, officials defended their government's treatment of Berends and George. "We all believe in freedom of speech," a member of the Ambassador's staff told OneWorld, "but you can't prevent law enforcement from doing their job. If they have any reason to question anybody in the normal course of their duties, that's part of what their job entails. It's just like any other part of the world."
Press freedom groups disagree. "Now that Andrew's case is settled, we expect his translator and the businessman who was arrested at the same time to be freed unconditionally as soon as possible," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. "We hope the Nigerian authorities have learned from this episode that it is absurd to arrest reporters in the Delta region and accuse them of spying when they are simply reporting, with permission, on economic and political situations in that country."
Human rights and media freedom groups note Berends and George's arrests are just the latest in a series of detentions and deportations of foreign journalists working in Nigeria. In April, a team of documentary filmmakers were arrested and deported in the same oil-rich region while working on a film called "Sweet Crude." Last October, two independent filmmakers and an American peace activist were arrested and deported while taking pictures of Nigeria's oil infrastructure.
The crackdown also comes as a landmark federal court case over Chevron's behavior in Nigeria lurches toward trial in San Francisco. The case, Bowoto vs. Chevron, was filed eight years ago by Nigerian civilians who were injured or killed in violent crackdowns by Nigerian security forces paid by the California-based oil giant.
After eight years of motions, the case was to go to trial this month, but the Bush administration refused to grant the Nigerian villagers visas to enter the United States.
"We the American public are not allowed to see footage about the way American oil companies operate around the world," said Antonia Juhasz, author of the upcoming book, The Tyranny of Oil. "Over the last eight years there has been an increasing U.S. military presence in West Africa to support these oil companies. The Bush administration and the oil companies don't want the American people to know this."
A crackdown on the media, Juhasz said, is also in the interests of the Nigerian government. "The Nigerian government wants the United States and the oil companies to think it has everything under control, and the more it is shown that it is a war zone and the more it is shown that the people of Nigeria are resisting these oil companies, the more the Nigerian government cracks down."
As of press time, it was unclear whether Berends was able to leave Nigeria with the material he collected over his months of filming. If he was, Americans are likely to learn a lot more about daily life in the oil-rich Niger Delta. If Berends' material was lost, another opportunity to broadcast the local effects of the world's thirst for petroleum will have been lost with it.
(oneworld)
Andrew Berends, a recipient of the International Documentary Association's Courage Under Fire award for his work in Iraq, had been living in Nigeria since April making a film about daily life in the oil-rich Niger Delta, where the activities of multinational corporations like Chevron and Shell Oil have provoked the ire of human rights groups.
In the last 10 years, military factions acting on behalf of multinational oil companies have killed more than 2,000 people in the Niger Delta, says the San Francisco-based nonprofit group Global Exchange, whose "Freedom from Oil" campaign aims to expose the negative consequences of Americans' oil consumption.
It is unclear if Berends will now be able to complete work on his film.
According to Berends' co-producer Aaron Soffin, Berends and his translator, Sam George, were arrested in the Delta's main city, Port Harcourt, Friday as they filmed "fishing boats coming in and women walking with their products to market."
Soffin said the two were imprisoned and interrogated by Nigerian police, military, and state security officers for 36 hours straight without food, water, or sleep. Their incarceration drew an immediate condemnation from international press freedom groups Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists and from Berends' home-state senators, Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer.
Four days after his arrest, Berends was transferred to the Nigerian capital Abuja and turned over to the custody of the U.S. Embassy, but was forced to report to the Nigerian State Security Service for additional interrogation. On Tuesday night local time, Berends was on a plane out of the country after receiving deportation papers.
At the Nigerian Embassy in Washington, officials defended their government's treatment of Berends and George. "We all believe in freedom of speech," a member of the Ambassador's staff told OneWorld, "but you can't prevent law enforcement from doing their job. If they have any reason to question anybody in the normal course of their duties, that's part of what their job entails. It's just like any other part of the world."
Press freedom groups disagree. "Now that Andrew's case is settled, we expect his translator and the businessman who was arrested at the same time to be freed unconditionally as soon as possible," Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. "We hope the Nigerian authorities have learned from this episode that it is absurd to arrest reporters in the Delta region and accuse them of spying when they are simply reporting, with permission, on economic and political situations in that country."
Human rights and media freedom groups note Berends and George's arrests are just the latest in a series of detentions and deportations of foreign journalists working in Nigeria. In April, a team of documentary filmmakers were arrested and deported in the same oil-rich region while working on a film called "Sweet Crude." Last October, two independent filmmakers and an American peace activist were arrested and deported while taking pictures of Nigeria's oil infrastructure.
The crackdown also comes as a landmark federal court case over Chevron's behavior in Nigeria lurches toward trial in San Francisco. The case, Bowoto vs. Chevron, was filed eight years ago by Nigerian civilians who were injured or killed in violent crackdowns by Nigerian security forces paid by the California-based oil giant.
After eight years of motions, the case was to go to trial this month, but the Bush administration refused to grant the Nigerian villagers visas to enter the United States.
"We the American public are not allowed to see footage about the way American oil companies operate around the world," said Antonia Juhasz, author of the upcoming book, The Tyranny of Oil. "Over the last eight years there has been an increasing U.S. military presence in West Africa to support these oil companies. The Bush administration and the oil companies don't want the American people to know this."
A crackdown on the media, Juhasz said, is also in the interests of the Nigerian government. "The Nigerian government wants the United States and the oil companies to think it has everything under control, and the more it is shown that it is a war zone and the more it is shown that the people of Nigeria are resisting these oil companies, the more the Nigerian government cracks down."
As of press time, it was unclear whether Berends was able to leave Nigeria with the material he collected over his months of filming. If he was, Americans are likely to learn a lot more about daily life in the oil-rich Niger Delta. If Berends' material was lost, another opportunity to broadcast the local effects of the world's thirst for petroleum will have been lost with it.
(oneworld)
Shell Extends Force Majeure
Royal Dutch Shell, Europe's biggest oil producer, extended a suspension of export obligations for its Bonny Light crude after discovering further leaks on a pipeline attacked by militants in July.
Shell Petroleum Development Co., the company's local unit, ``is extending the force majeure it declared on July 29 on the Bonny light offtake program,'' spokesman Rainer Winzenried said in an e-mailed statement today. The extent of the suspension will ``depend on the progress of repair work,'' he said.
Force majeure is a legal clause that allows producers to miss contracted deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.
Nigeria has fallen behind Angola as Africa's biggest oil exporter this year as militant attacks on oil installations and pipelines crimp production. Bonny Light is the light, sweet variety of oil, typically pumped by Nigeria and favored by U.S. refiners for the quantity of gasoline it produces.
Shell originally declared force majeure on Bonny deliveries in July, August and September after militants attacked the Nembe Creek trunk-line in the Kula area of Rivers state, shutting some crude production. Nigeria's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, claimed responsibility for the attack.
``The company had worked hard to repair the pipeline and bring back production only to discover more leaks from the effects of the attack,'' Winzenried said.
Exports of Bonny Light were originally scheduled to increase 24 percent in October as production resumed. Shipments were scheduled to average 196,774 barrels a day, compared with 158,333 barrels a day in September. Bonny Light production is normally in excess of 300,000 barrels a day.
(Bloomberg)
Shell Petroleum Development Co., the company's local unit, ``is extending the force majeure it declared on July 29 on the Bonny light offtake program,'' spokesman Rainer Winzenried said in an e-mailed statement today. The extent of the suspension will ``depend on the progress of repair work,'' he said.
Force majeure is a legal clause that allows producers to miss contracted deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.
Nigeria has fallen behind Angola as Africa's biggest oil exporter this year as militant attacks on oil installations and pipelines crimp production. Bonny Light is the light, sweet variety of oil, typically pumped by Nigeria and favored by U.S. refiners for the quantity of gasoline it produces.
Shell originally declared force majeure on Bonny deliveries in July, August and September after militants attacked the Nembe Creek trunk-line in the Kula area of Rivers state, shutting some crude production. Nigeria's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, claimed responsibility for the attack.
``The company had worked hard to repair the pipeline and bring back production only to discover more leaks from the effects of the attack,'' Winzenried said.
Exports of Bonny Light were originally scheduled to increase 24 percent in October as production resumed. Shipments were scheduled to average 196,774 barrels a day, compared with 158,333 barrels a day in September. Bonny Light production is normally in excess of 300,000 barrels a day.
(Bloomberg)
MEND Opposes New Ministry
Nigeria's most prominent militant group on Thursday criticized the creation of a new ministry dedicated to the problems of the oil-rich Niger Delta, saying it could lead to corruption.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua announced changes to ministries on Wednesday that included the creation of a ministry for the Niger Delta and the separation of the energy ministry into petroleum and power.
"The people of the region should receive this latest dish with apprehension," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in a statement.
"It will be yet another avenue for corruption and political favouritism."
Yar'Adua, who took office 16 months ago, has been under pressure to bring stability to the delta. The MEND launched a campaign of violence in early 2006 that has shut a fifth of the OPEC member's oil output.
Nigeria's government set up a panel on Monday to look at how to bring peace to the Niger Delta but militants dismissed it as no more likely to succeed than past efforts.
A peace summit promised by Yar'Adua was shelved in July after a mediator organising the event resigned.
(Reuters)
Note: MEND's fears were exactly the thought I had when the FG announced formation of this new governmental entity. This is just one more layer of government bureacracy to be corrupted and will split bribe money and ill gotten gains even further than it is now. In my opinion, Yar'Adua has simply created another source of income in a country where corruption is the norm. Until Nigerians realize that to kill a snake you must cut off its head, the country will be ruled by increasingly greedy Medusa's and it will be the average citizen who continues to suffer.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar'Adua announced changes to ministries on Wednesday that included the creation of a ministry for the Niger Delta and the separation of the energy ministry into petroleum and power.
"The people of the region should receive this latest dish with apprehension," the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta said in a statement.
"It will be yet another avenue for corruption and political favouritism."
Yar'Adua, who took office 16 months ago, has been under pressure to bring stability to the delta. The MEND launched a campaign of violence in early 2006 that has shut a fifth of the OPEC member's oil output.
Nigeria's government set up a panel on Monday to look at how to bring peace to the Niger Delta but militants dismissed it as no more likely to succeed than past efforts.
A peace summit promised by Yar'Adua was shelved in July after a mediator organising the event resigned.
(Reuters)
Note: MEND's fears were exactly the thought I had when the FG announced formation of this new governmental entity. This is just one more layer of government bureacracy to be corrupted and will split bribe money and ill gotten gains even further than it is now. In my opinion, Yar'Adua has simply created another source of income in a country where corruption is the norm. Until Nigerians realize that to kill a snake you must cut off its head, the country will be ruled by increasingly greedy Medusa's and it will be the average citizen who continues to suffer.
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Creation of New Ministry Hailed as Progress
Residents of Nigeria's restive oil-rich Niger Delta region are reportedly hailing as a step in the right direction the creation Wednesday of a new Niger Delta ministry by President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's administration. The residents say the move could help quell the escalating violence in the Niger delta region and boost the country's oil production which has reportedly taken a significant hit after rebels in the area intensified violent attacks on both foreign and local workers employed by oil companies in the area. The creation of the new ministry for the Niger Delta region is a key demand by the various armed groups in the area, claiming it would help reduce the violence and bring about development.
VOA's Chinedu Offor is monitoring the situation. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from Nigeria's capital, Abuja that expectations are high after the creation of the new ministry.
"Today Thursday, prominent politicians and personalities of the Niger Delta are expressing support for President Umaru Yar'Adua's decision to create a ministry for the Niger Delta. What this essentially means is the Niger Delta would no longer be handled as a part of a particular ministry, but would now have a full ministry that would take care of infrastructural development, political development, environmental problems and the issue of hostage taking and reconciliation," Offor said.
He said the creation of the new ministry is a significant step towards resolving the instability in the restive, but oil rich Niger Delta region.
"This is one of the demands made by several people in that area, especially the militant groups that they need a separate ministry to take care of their affairs. And it appears that with this decision, President Umaru Yar'Adua has kicked started the government's effort to once more resolve the Niger Delta problem permanently," he pointed out.
He said the creation of the new ministry could potentially boost oil production in the area once violence there has been reduced.
"Remember, the oil companies are fleeing from that region because of these problems. They say the militant attacks have gotten to an extent that they can no longer operate efficiently, and their experts are feeling from that area. And of course Nigeria's oil production has been reduced by about 20 or 30 percent, depending on whom you are talking to," he said.
Offor said the creation of the new ministry is one of many demands made by rebels in the restive Delta region.
"This is a key demand by the militants, and with the government acceding to this demand, there is every hope that at least the main militant groups would see this as an olive branch from the Nigerian government, and would reduce the incidence of militant attacks and hostage taking.
And after that when the violence is reduced to the barest minimum, the oil companies can come back, then people can get to the table and talk about other issues. But I think with this decision the government would want to first reduce the violence before any other issue can be discussed," Offor noted.
He said the government seems to be bent on ensuring peace in the Niger Delta region.
"I think that is true because apart from the creation of this new ministry of the Niger Delta, the government particularly, the Vice President Jonathan Goodluck on Tuesday inaugurated what he called a technical committee to look at the issue of the Niger Delta. Again remember that there was a time where there was supposed to be a peace conference, but that peace conference did not hold because the Niger Delta people refused to recognize the government's representative, especially the chairman, former Nigerian representative to the United Nations Alhaji Gambari, whom they said was a stranger to what is happening in the Niger Delta," he said.
(VOA)
VOA's Chinedu Offor is monitoring the situation. He tells reporter Peter Clottey from Nigeria's capital, Abuja that expectations are high after the creation of the new ministry.
"Today Thursday, prominent politicians and personalities of the Niger Delta are expressing support for President Umaru Yar'Adua's decision to create a ministry for the Niger Delta. What this essentially means is the Niger Delta would no longer be handled as a part of a particular ministry, but would now have a full ministry that would take care of infrastructural development, political development, environmental problems and the issue of hostage taking and reconciliation," Offor said.
He said the creation of the new ministry is a significant step towards resolving the instability in the restive, but oil rich Niger Delta region.
"This is one of the demands made by several people in that area, especially the militant groups that they need a separate ministry to take care of their affairs. And it appears that with this decision, President Umaru Yar'Adua has kicked started the government's effort to once more resolve the Niger Delta problem permanently," he pointed out.
He said the creation of the new ministry could potentially boost oil production in the area once violence there has been reduced.
"Remember, the oil companies are fleeing from that region because of these problems. They say the militant attacks have gotten to an extent that they can no longer operate efficiently, and their experts are feeling from that area. And of course Nigeria's oil production has been reduced by about 20 or 30 percent, depending on whom you are talking to," he said.
Offor said the creation of the new ministry is one of many demands made by rebels in the restive Delta region.
"This is a key demand by the militants, and with the government acceding to this demand, there is every hope that at least the main militant groups would see this as an olive branch from the Nigerian government, and would reduce the incidence of militant attacks and hostage taking.
And after that when the violence is reduced to the barest minimum, the oil companies can come back, then people can get to the table and talk about other issues. But I think with this decision the government would want to first reduce the violence before any other issue can be discussed," Offor noted.
He said the government seems to be bent on ensuring peace in the Niger Delta region.
"I think that is true because apart from the creation of this new ministry of the Niger Delta, the government particularly, the Vice President Jonathan Goodluck on Tuesday inaugurated what he called a technical committee to look at the issue of the Niger Delta. Again remember that there was a time where there was supposed to be a peace conference, but that peace conference did not hold because the Niger Delta people refused to recognize the government's representative, especially the chairman, former Nigerian representative to the United Nations Alhaji Gambari, whom they said was a stranger to what is happening in the Niger Delta," he said.
(VOA)
Diver's Parents Optomistic
Parents of a Cape Town man kidnapped in the Niger Delta are confident their son's navy training will guide the group through the ordeal.
Dan Laarman, 36, was one of 13 people - five foreign workers and eight Nigerians - abducted while on an oil industry supply vessel on Tuesday. A private security contractor in the region said the vessel, HD Blue Ocean, was attacked at the mouth of the Sambreiro River in the delta, home to Africa's biggest oil industry. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the Nigerian authorities had officially confirmed to South Africa's High Commissioner to Nigeria, Stix Sifingo, that two South Africans had been abducted.
"Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution to the matter," he said.
Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said from their Cosmos home situated on the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria that he was probably the ideal person to be in that situation. "He trained in the SA Navy for more than 10 years," Will Laarman said."With all his experience he would be calm and assess the situation. He will calm the other people down because he knows that if they panic something bad will happen."
The couple said they received a call on Wednesday from Laarman's girlfriend of 10 years, Michelle Smit. Ingrid Laarman said Dan had about nine years' experience as a freelance diver and had worked in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Gabon.
"Dan recently qualified as a nitrox diver, which allowed him to live in a pressurised cabin for about a month and dive deeper than 100m. He is aware of the dangers in this job, but not these kinds of dangers," she said.
Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs. South African-born hostage negotiator, Mark Courtney, said kidnappings in the delta usually did not take less than 10 days to resolve, but the gunmen where not violent and chiefly interested in making money.Courtney is retained by Thomas A Clayton Consultants, the world's leading global risk and crisis management company headquartered in California.
"It's extremely difficult to find out who is holding the prisoners because they hide behind pseudonyms. It takes about a week to 10 days to find out which group you’re dealing with. The standard request is a billion naira (US$80 million), which is too much. No one ever pays that."
He said the gang that carries out the actual "snatch" would consist of about 10 to 30 armed men, but there could be as many as 100 men at the camp where they were held. "Thecamps are in the delta, the place is criss-crossed with rivers and streams."Courtney said it was seldom that situations in the delta went bad and the longest case he dealt with was 50 days.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers and holding them for ransom.
(Reuters)
Dan Laarman, 36, was one of 13 people - five foreign workers and eight Nigerians - abducted while on an oil industry supply vessel on Tuesday. A private security contractor in the region said the vessel, HD Blue Ocean, was attacked at the mouth of the Sambreiro River in the delta, home to Africa's biggest oil industry. Department of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa said the Nigerian authorities had officially confirmed to South Africa's High Commissioner to Nigeria, Stix Sifingo, that two South Africans had been abducted.
"Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution to the matter," he said.
Laarman's parents, Will and Ingrid, said from their Cosmos home situated on the Hartbeespoort Dam near Pretoria that he was probably the ideal person to be in that situation. "He trained in the SA Navy for more than 10 years," Will Laarman said."With all his experience he would be calm and assess the situation. He will calm the other people down because he knows that if they panic something bad will happen."
The couple said they received a call on Wednesday from Laarman's girlfriend of 10 years, Michelle Smit. Ingrid Laarman said Dan had about nine years' experience as a freelance diver and had worked in the Gulf of Mexico, Puerto Rico and Gabon.
"Dan recently qualified as a nitrox diver, which allowed him to live in a pressurised cabin for about a month and dive deeper than 100m. He is aware of the dangers in this job, but not these kinds of dangers," she said.
Laarman was in Nigeria on a month-long contract with Hydrodive Nigeria to work on Chevron oil rigs. South African-born hostage negotiator, Mark Courtney, said kidnappings in the delta usually did not take less than 10 days to resolve, but the gunmen where not violent and chiefly interested in making money.Courtney is retained by Thomas A Clayton Consultants, the world's leading global risk and crisis management company headquartered in California.
"It's extremely difficult to find out who is holding the prisoners because they hide behind pseudonyms. It takes about a week to 10 days to find out which group you’re dealing with. The standard request is a billion naira (US$80 million), which is too much. No one ever pays that."
He said the gang that carries out the actual "snatch" would consist of about 10 to 30 armed men, but there could be as many as 100 men at the camp where they were held. "Thecamps are in the delta, the place is criss-crossed with rivers and streams."Courtney said it was seldom that situations in the delta went bad and the longest case he dealt with was 50 days.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers and holding them for ransom.
(Reuters)
Supply Boat Attacked
Two Britons, two South Africans and a Ukrainian were on board an oil supply vessel which was hijacked in Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta on Tuesday, private security sources said on Wednesday.
One security contractor said unidentified gunmen attacked the vessel, H.D. Blue Ocean, on Tuesday at the entrance of the Sambreiro River in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks which is home to Africa's biggest oil industry.
Nigerian military officials have not confirmed the attack.
James McLaughlin, spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria, said: "I can confirm that there were two Britons on board the vessel. We have been in touch with the Nigerian authorities to press for their early release."
South Africa's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that two of its nationals were abducted in the delta on Tuesday, but gave no further details and made no reference to an attack on a vessel.
"High Commissioner (Stix) Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution," the ministry statement said.
Another security contractor in Nigeria also said those on board included two Britons, two South Africans and a Ukrainian. Eight Nigerians were also thought to have been on the vessel.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers.
More than 200 foreigners have been abducted in the delta over the past two years. Almost all have been released unharmed.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the breakdown in law and order and the instability has become as much about control of a lucrative trade in stolen oil and abductions for ransom as about political struggle. Vessels are regularly seized.
Gunmen attacked a vessel operated by the local unit of Italian energy group Eni close to Sambreiro early on Sunday, killing one crew member and abducting another for ransom, the army said.
That attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members as it returned from the Agbami offshore field operated by U.S. firm Chevron.
(Reuters)
One security contractor said unidentified gunmen attacked the vessel, H.D. Blue Ocean, on Tuesday at the entrance of the Sambreiro River in the delta, a vast network of mangrove creeks which is home to Africa's biggest oil industry.
Nigerian military officials have not confirmed the attack.
James McLaughlin, spokesman for the British High Commission in Nigeria, said: "I can confirm that there were two Britons on board the vessel. We have been in touch with the Nigerian authorities to press for their early release."
South Africa's Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that two of its nationals were abducted in the delta on Tuesday, but gave no further details and made no reference to an attack on a vessel.
"High Commissioner (Stix) Sifingo and his consular officials will continue to do everything in their power, working with the Nigerian authorities and employer, to help find a speedy and amicable resolution," the ministry statement said.
Another security contractor in Nigeria also said those on board included two Britons, two South Africans and a Ukrainian. Eight Nigerians were also thought to have been on the vessel.
Insecurity in the Niger Delta surged in early 2006 when militants, who say they are fighting for more local control of the impoverished region's oil wealth, started blowing up oil pipelines and kidnapping foreign workers.
More than 200 foreigners have been abducted in the delta over the past two years. Almost all have been released unharmed.
Criminal gangs have taken advantage of the breakdown in law and order and the instability has become as much about control of a lucrative trade in stolen oil and abductions for ransom as about political struggle. Vessels are regularly seized.
Gunmen attacked a vessel operated by the local unit of Italian energy group Eni close to Sambreiro early on Sunday, killing one crew member and abducting another for ransom, the army said.
That attack came barely three weeks after gunmen hijacked a supply vessel belonging to oil services company West Africa Offshore with eight Nigerian crew members as it returned from the Agbami offshore field operated by U.S. firm Chevron.
(Reuters)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
