Saturday 20 November 2010

Back to that greater oil calamity

It's time to talk about the Niger delta again

"Plans to share petroleum wealth were meant to bring peace to Nigeria's troubled oil province. But [...] an arms amnesty is failing and the Delta remains a powder keg" Daniel Howden, in the Independent.

"Visible from space, deadly on Earth: the gas flares of Nigeria" Howden, a month later.

 "Nigeria's agony dwarfs the Gulf oil spill. The US and Europe ignore it" John Vidal, Observer.

"Apocalypse Now" Fred Bridgland, The Herald (Scotland)

Even the Financial Times has an article, which their policy prevents me copying here, by Patrick Dele Cole: "Leadership required to tackle delta’s oil spills", drawing attention to the effects on the people and the environment of oil company operations in the Niger delta.

BP put $20bn (£13.5bn) in a compensation fund for victims of the Gulf oil spill (BBC). So far, there has been an award of $1.5 bn against Shell (now departed the delta) in a Nigerian court in 2003, but no record that it has been paid. Deepwater Horizon has long since been capped; the pollution in the Niger delta goes on.

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