Apparently dreading a possible all-out battle between militants, holding nine expatriate oil workers as hostages, and men of the Nigerian Army, hundreds of people from the Gbaramatu Kingdom in Warri have started moving out of the community.
This comes as militants attacked another crude oil pipeline in the Escravos area of Warri belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited.
The developments subdued the Federal Government�s efforts to secure the release of the nine hostages. THISDAY checks at the Pessu, Main Market and Miller Waterside jetties where passenger boats from Gbaramatu towns and villages berth showed a stream of people arriving from the area.
According to one Mrs. German Powei, people have been moving out of Gbaramatu for fear of an impending battle.
Powei said that they were told that the militants and the Nigerian Armed Forces might engage themselves in a battle soon, hence the need to move out of harms way.
She said most people were moving to ‘safe’ areas such as Burutu, Ogulaha and Odimodi near the border with Bayelsa State while others like herself preferred to go to Warri.
Although details of the attack on the pipeline feeding the Makaraba flowstation operated by Chevron Nigeria Limited, were still hazy as at press time, it has already forced the US oil major to suspend oil production from the facilities resulting in the shut in of 13,000 barrels per day (bpd).
It was further gathered that the militants also attacked on Sunday, a supply vessel servicing the platform, although sources could not confirm if there were any casualty in the ensuing confrontation between security personnel that accompanied the vessel and the attackers.
Chevron officials who confirmed the development said the company was yet to ascertain the extent of damage to the pipeline.
�What really happened is that we observed a sudden pressure drop on the pipeline carrying crude from the Makaraba platform, therefore we decided to isolate the trunk line and suspended production from the platform,� an official told THISDAY yesterday and feeding the
The latest attack on the Escravos pipeline and the subsequent suspension of operation at the Makaraba flowstation, brings to a total of 458,000 bpd of crude production that has been shut in since the militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND) began its insurgence in the oil producing region.
Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), which has had a fair share of the MEND attacks, have shut down all its operations in the west (Warri) of the Niger Delta region following the violent attack on its facilities, which led to the kidnap of the nine expatriates oil workers. The closure resulted in the shut in of 445,000 bpd of oil and gas production by Shell.
In monetary terms, Nigeria�s earnings might have been cut short by $27.5 million (N3.55 billion) per day due to the Niger Delta crisis. Oil exports account for more than 90 percent of the country�s foreign exchange revenue although the crisis region has also caused a hike in the international oil prices.
Apart from the drop in oil revenue, the MEND insurgence has impacted seriously on electricity generation and supply in the country. The Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) announced last week that electricity generation had dropped by 850 mega watts (MW) to 2,600MW due to gas supply constraints to its Egbin, Delta and Sapele thermal power stations.
Also yesterday, officials of the Warri Refinery expressed fears of an imminent acute scarcity of petroleum products especially in the South-south areas as the fuel stock in the refinery was fast depleting. The 125,000 bpd plant had been shut down since last month after militants attacked the crude oil pipeline feeding the refinery.
�When the pipeline was vandalised the last time, it took us 18 months to repair. But right now we can�t even talk about repairs as the youths have prevented our engineers from getting to the site,� an official of the refinery said.
Following the hostility in the region, the National Assembly Committees on Niger Delta have cautioned against further use of the military in the Niger Delta region, arguing that a recourse to such tactics would worsen the security situation of the oil rich area.
The Committees of the Senate and House of Representatives, which jointly addressed newsmen at the national assembly, however called for continued dialogue between the federal government and the Niger Delta militants.
Senator Patrick Osakwe (PDP, Delta) and Hon. Oleka Nwogu (PDP, Rivers), the respective chairman of the Senate and House committees also urged the militants to release the hostages noting that their acts had given the nation a bad image.
�We are pleading that the hostages should be released unharmed. Violence is not the answer to the Niger Delta problems.
�On our part, we have decided to convoke an all stakeholders meeting to discuss the Niger Delta issue. We are sensitive to the happenings in the Niger Delta and we are worried,� Osakwe, who spoke on behalf of the committees, further said.
Mar12006