Nigerian delta group vows to hit oilfields again

Nigerian insurgents vowed Thursday to renew their five-year war against Africa’s largest oil industry when a unilateral cease-fire expires, even though some of their leaders have surrendered under a government amnesty in recent weeks.

Their defiance raised the prospect of a major military offensive against them in their swampy stronghold in the Niger Delta of southern Nigeria.

That bodes ill for one of the United States’ key oil suppliers. Nigeria has already seen its oil production slashed by one third in the last couple of years because of the incessant rebel attacks — from 2.6 million barrels a day to 1.7 million.

The Nigerian central bank says the violence has cost the country $1 billion a month in lost oil revenue, and helped push global oil prices higher. Nigeria’s oil exports account for 90 percent of the West African country’s foreign exchange earnings.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND, is a loose alliance of several groups which has led the insurgency aimed at Western oil companies such as Chevron of the United States, Total of France and the Anglo-Dutch Shell.

The rebels demand a more equitable share of Nigeria’s oil revenue for the impoverished and long neglected Ijaw tribes of the delta, the main oil-producing region.

But their campaign has also degenerated into a massive crime spree, in which vast amounts of crude have been stolen and smuggled abroad in tankers.

MEND declared a 90-day truce on July 15. That was extended for another 30 days Sept. 15. It expires at midnight Thursday.

“MEND considers this next phase of our struggle as the most critical as we intend to end 50 years of slavery of the people of the Niger Delta by the Nigeria government, a few individuals and the Western oil companies once and for all,” the movement said in an e-mail communique.

On Thursday, MEND spokesman Jomo Gborno said the movement planned to intensify its campaign after negotiations with President Umaru Yar’Ardua failed to make any progress.

“In this next phase, we will burn down all attacked installations and no longer limit our attacks to the destruction of pipelines,” the communique added.

The government, meanwhile, trumpeted what it claimed was a “major breakthrough” with the amnesty, during which several MEND leaders gave themselves up with hundreds of their men and surrendered their weapons.

They included one of the most prominent commanders in the western delta, Government Ekpemupolo, known by his nom de guerre of Tompolo. He surrendered on Oct. 4 just before the amnesty expired.

Farah Dogogo, a key leader in the eastern sector, surrendered a few days earlier. His forces had been particularly successful in destroying oil installations.

Military sources in Abuja, Nigeria’s administrative capital, said MEND had been considerably weakened by these defections. But the movement claims new leaders have been named to replace those who gave themselves up.

The Abuja government has launched several offensives against the rebels, but has never succeeded in crushing them. Hundreds of civilians have perished in these campaigns, resulting in a steady flow of recruits for the rebels.

However, in recent months Yar’Ardua has been building up his forces and buying weapons, including fast-attack craft to pursue the rebels in the creeks, rivers and swamps of the delta. ref: Oct. 15, 09 (UPI)

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Obama’s Africa agenda, our business and democracy

By Chido Nwangwu, Publisher of USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston
USAfricaonline.com and CLASS magazine and The Black Business Journal

www.usafricaonline.com/chido.obamaafrica09.html

www.USAfricaonline.com/chido-obamaafrica09/

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Nigeria set to be world’s 2nd Largest Supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas
By Udenna Orji
Nigeria, rich with an estimated 186 trillion standard cubic feet (tscf) of gas, and rising investments in gas production is well on its way to becoming the world’s second largest liquefied natural gas supplier, after Qatar.
The Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) project has also expanded to six trains since the first train came into operation in 1999, while the seventh train is awaiting Final Investment Decision (FID). Other projects like Brass, Olokola and other third party LNG projects are also awaiting FID.
The Special Adviser to the President on Petroleum Matters, Dr. Emmanuel Egbogah, who made these known said “Nigerian LNG has a total installed capacity of 22 million metric tones of LNG per annum. In addition to the Nigerian LNG, other LNG projects such as the Brass, Olokola and other third party LNG plants are awaiting final investment decision, which is dependent on resolution of gas supply issues. The Brass and OKLNG facilities when completed, will add more than over 30 million metric tones of additional LNG capacity for export.”
Egbogah, who was speaking on “Nigerian Gas in the New Economic Landscape,” revealed that “Nigeria is, therefore on track to becoming the world’s second fastest growing LNG supplier in the world, next to Qatar”.
He said on a regional front, Nigeria was well positioned and ready to supply gas to the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) Project, which was conceived with the objective of delivering Nigerian gas to the West African sub-region when it fully begins operation soon. The over 550 kilometre-pipeline is now ready to deliver gas to Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
“At full capacity, the pipeline will deliver up to 470 million standard cubic feet per day. Initial demand is about 200 million cubic feet per day. However, there is already a signal of growing demand in the region in order of about 600 million cubic feet per day. The pipeline could be extended beyond Ghana to Cote D’Ivoire and beyond as soon as market opportunities develop” Dr. Egbogah said
According to him, in addition to the WAGP, a 4,400 kilometre Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline Project, which was proposed to take gas through North Africa, the Mediterranean Sea and then to Europe is also envisioned with a potential for two billion cubic feet per day.
He stated that “the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, which originates from Calabar to Ajaokuta, Kano and through North Africa to Europe is particularly a very strategic project for Nigeria.

Apart from providing a viable alternative source of gas supply to Europe besides the supply from the Russian Federation, it provides an opportunity for the diversification of the export route for marketing Nigeria’s natural gas resources besides LNG export, and for the integration of the economies of the sub region in line with the objectives of NEPAD and African Union”, adding that “the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project and the other projects to supply regional markets therefore have the potential to confirm Nigeria’s position and economic leadership in Africa and at the same time earn us more respect in the comity of nations.”

Egbogah noted that the Nigerian domestic gas market was “today witnessing one of the most significant transformations from a very low level of utilization of about 500 million cubic feet per day a few years back in 2000; the domestic market is expected to see an unprecedented growth in utilization”  Abuja, Sep 28, 2009 (Leadership).

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