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Article

23 Aug 2017

Author:
Andy Rowell, Oil Change International (USA)

Nigeria: Protesters continue to occupy Shell plant in Rivers State; company says protesters' action has safety implications

"Protesters Continue to Defy Shell by Occupying Plant in Nigeria", 22 Aug 2017

On August 11th , hundreds of people from the Niger Delta stormed the Belema flow station gas plant owned by Shell in the Rivers State region of the Delta. The plant transports crude oil to the Bonny Light export terminal, from where it is shipped overseas. Their list of demands could have been written by their parents and grandparents who fought the company before them. It is the same list of grievances for which the writer Ken Saro-Wiwa campaigned for – and ultimately died for – in the mid-nineties...[T]he protesters said they were not benefiting from the region’s oil wealth and wanted an end to the oil pollution that has ruined much of the land...In response to start with Shell spun its usual story of how it is shares a commitment “to the welfare of host communities in the Niger Delta remains unshaken.” Some eleven days on and the protests are continuing with hundreds still occupying the plant, with Shell still not able to access the site. And now Shell is beginning to put pressure on the protesters to leave, saying their safety could be at risk. The company’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company, said in a statement on Sunday: “The illegal occupation of Belema Flow Station and Gas Plant in Rivers State has safety implications both for the people at the facilities and nearby communities.”