Shell: Almost 14,000 tons of oil lost in Nigeria

[The Straight Story]

Shell: Almost 14,000 tons of oil lost in Nigeria

LAGOS, Nigeria – Royal Dutch Shell PLC says attacks and vandalism at its pipelines caused the company to lose nearly 14,000 tons of crude oil in Nigeria's troubled Niger Delta last year.

The company says that's a significant increase over last year in the amount of oil spilled in the delta, a maze of sensitive creeks and swamplands. The oil giant blamed the majority of the spills on two incidents, one where thieves damaged a wellhead at its Odidi field and another where a bomb planted by militants exploded at the Trans Escravos pipeline.

The company announced the spills in an annual environmental report released Tuesday.

Militants in the restive Niger Delta have attacked pipelines, kidnapped petroleum company employees and fought government troops since 2006.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100504/ap_on_bi_ge/af_nigeria_oil_unrest

[Ruby the Liberal]

1. Last month in my class, I was teamed with a Nigerian engineer with Shell

Our group project was to pick a project and dissect it. We chose the Shell/Nigeria oil project due to access and lack of confidentiality/intellectual property issues commonplace here in the US.

I can tell you, this is one VERY complex deal. My fellow Americans and I were shocked as to what all went down (and is going down) over there, and how it is seen as 'business as usual'. Force majeure (2x), militants, corruption, Kyoto protocols - you name it. I think he was amused at our collective reaction of surprise that this is all considered 'normal' for project management.

[malaise]

2. Good

The oil belongs to the Nigerian people. Give them a fair share or expect them to take it.
Fuck all of Big oil!

[Ruby the Liberal]

3. Actually, Shell Nigeria is partly owned by the Government with $ going to the people

They also employ 98% Nigerians. The project was kicked off so that they could be in compliance with Kyoto, which they were previously not - a HUGE violator.

I know more about this than I should. Never thought I would use it in conversation!

[AnnieBW]

4. Dear Sir or Madam:

I am a Nigerian petroleum engineer. I need your help getting 14,000 tons of oil out of the country. If you send me $5,000 through a wire transfer, I will send you the 14,000 tons of oil.

:evilgrin:

[kgnu_fan]

5. Erik Prince of Black Water is helping Shell to suppress people of Nigeria

The following is from today's Democracy Now ! interview with JEREMY SCHAHILL

<snip>
One is that Erik Prince said that the United States should send armed mercenaries, he doesn’t use the term, but that’s what they are, armed mercenaries, into Somalia, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, and Nigeria. With the exception of Nigeria, he talked about Yemen and Somalia and Saudi Arabia facing Iranian threats and the Iranians were, as he put it, at the dead center of badness in the world. And he said that by sending in private contractors, armed contractors, instead of the military, you solve the political problems of sending a large U.S. force, and said that the private sector can do this in a much smaller footprint way and it also would be politically expedient because there would essentially be plausible deniability on the part of the government. In the case of Nigeria, of course we’ve seen an increase in resistance movements and indigenous movements that are protesting against multinational oil corporations polluting, doing what they perceive to be stealing of Nigeria’s most valuable resources, oil-rich African nation. Erik Prince talked about these Nigerian groups as stealing oil from the multi-national oil corporations and suggested without providing any evidence whatsoever that revenue from this theft, by Nigerian groups, of the oil was being used to fund terrorist operations.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/5/4/exclusivesecret_recording_of_erik_prince_reveals

[csziggy]

6. How do tons of oil relate to gallons or barrels of oil?

I sweat these companies use all sorts of different measurements to keep the public confused.

[madokie]

7. 42 gallons to a barrel

Between 3.104 and 3.236 kg (7 lbs) per gallon of light sweet crude.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_one_gallon_of_crude_oil_weigh