Cablegate: Nigeria: Letter From Chevron Nigeria: Escravos

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS ABUJA 002326

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: CASC PGOV EPET SOCI NI
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: LETTER FROM CHEVRON NIGERIA: ESCRAVOS
OCCUPATION ENDS

Ref: Lagos 1460

1. Ambassador Jeter received the following letter from
Chevron Nigeria Limited, signifying the end of the
occupation of Chevron's Escravos storage facility by
Ugborodo women in Delta State:

Begin Text

END OF OCCUPATION OF ESCRAVOS TANK FARM BY UGBORODO WOMEN

=Salutations

We are happy to inform you of the peaceful resolution of
the occupation of our Escravos Tank Farm and Terminal by
protesting women from the Ugborodo communities. The women
have vacated the facility and returned to their various
homes following the signing of a Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) by our management and leaders of the
communities.

Throughout the period of occupation, there was no injury
to, or loss of life of, any of our workforce, including the
American nationals. Normalcy is gradually returning to our
Escravos operations and we can once again guarantee a
favorable working environment, devoid of fear and
harassment, for our employees and contractors.

We appreciate your show of concern and interest in our
affairs during the occupation and would like to re-assure
you of our paramount commitment to safe operations,
especially the safety of our people.

Complimentary Close,

J.R. Pryor

End Text

2. (U) Comment: This takeover falls on the heels of an
April situation in Escravos, during which twenty-five local
youths held forty Chevron Texaco employees hostage. The
situation was resolved without incident and despite the
peaceful resolution of this most recent takeover, Chevron
still faces many challenges to operating business as usual.
There are unconfirmed news reports of yet another potential
interruption to Chevron's operations as apparently
inhabitants of villages that did not participate in the
recent agreement may be clamoring for equal treatment

2. (U) Women and children seem to be the new wave of
protestors in the Delta. Situations like these will be
increasingly difficult for oil companies to counteract.
Inevitably, production will be impacted. Throughout the
eleven-day ordeal, Chevron lost nearly 300,000 barrels of
oil a day. If this trend holds, a serious threat may be
posed to Nigeria's number one source of foreign earnings.
The silver lining in all of these developments, if there
can be one at all, is that no one was hurt nor does there
appear to be an intent to physically harm any of the oil
companies' personnel, Nigerian or expatriate. End Comment.
JETER

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