07/11/09-Chima Onwe-Next

Curse Of The Black Gold: 50 Years of Oil in the Niger Delta

Nigeria’s main militant group, Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (Mend), said on Friday that it had destroyed the recently repaired Chevron pipeline linking Alero creek through Abiteye to the Chevron export terminal in Delta State. In an email sent to NEXT by Mend spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, the group claimed that the attack was carried out at about 8pm Friday evening.

This is the second time in two months that this facility will be attacked by MEND. The group has shut in an estimated one third of Nigeria’s crude oil production capacity.

It was not immediately clear if any oil production in the OPEC member country was affected. The Niger Delta is the heartland of one of Africa’s biggest oil and gas industry. This fresh attack is coming two days after Mend leader Henry Okah accepted the amnesty offer from Nigeria’s President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. Following his acceptance, Mr. Gbomo had issued an email statement indicating that the group supported Mr. Okah’s decision and that they were pleased with the appointment of former managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Timi Alaibe, as special adviser to the President on Niger Delta affairs.

It was not possible to independently verify MEND’s statement. No comment was immediately available from the Nigerian military or Chevron officials.

Below is a copy of the email that was sent to NEXT by Mr. Gbomo.

At about 2000 Hrs today, Friday, July 10, 2009, our fighters revisited the recently repaired Chevron pipeline linking Alero creek through Abiteye to the Chevron export terminal in Delta state and destroyed it again.

We have been monitoring the repair works which involved security of over 200 soldiers and waited patiently until the repair was completed.

This will be our mode of operation on any pipeline or facility that is repaired.

The soldiers left to guard the area cooperated with us and no shots were fired. We see the soldiers posted to the region as victims and will avoid a confrontation except it is absolutely necessary.

The government and the oil companies seem to care more about the flow of oil than the return of displaced persons. If the government can show the same speed in which it exhibited in repairing the lines as returning the displaced communities, the region will be a better place.

This action by the government has provoked us to decide that even when talks are on-going there will be no repairs on any destroyed facilities until both parties agree on a common position on the regions future.

Jomo Gbomo