Nigeria To Resume Payments To Rebels In Oil Rich Niger Delta

OilPrice.com: Nigeria Resumes Payments To Ex-Rebels Plotting Against Oil Industry

The Nigerian government has opted to resume making payments to the former militants as part of a plan to halt armed attacks against oil industry facilities in the Niger Delta region.

Officials last February halted making payments to the ex-rebels who in 2009 pledged to stop their offensive against the oil infrastructure in exchange for benefits. The aid received by the former combatants included a US$203.44 monthly payment as well as job training, but the government cut it off after a recent spate of attacks on oil pipelines.

Authorities at the time believed beneficiaries of the amnesty may have played a part in the violence at the oil-rich Niger Delta. Yet as reported in Bloomberg, the suspension of subsidies removed the incentives for former combatants to act as protectors. As a result, violence worsened and has forced Nigeria’s already troubled oil production to drop as low as 700,000 barrels per day.

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More News On Nigeria To Resume Payments To Rebels In Oil Rich Niger Delta

Nigeria resumes cash pay-offs to former militants in oil hub: oil official -- Reuters
Nigeria Resumes Payments to Ex-Militants as Oil Output Drops -- Bloomberg
Nigeria to resume payments to oil militants in Niger Delta -- BBC
Nigeria: Bandits Replacing Islamic Terrorists -- Strategy Page

Nigeria's Rebels Threaten More Attacks Against Nigeria's Oil Industry

Nigeria's Mend Militants Claim Oil Pipeline Attack -- BBC

The Nigerian militant group Mend has said it was behind a weekend attack on an oil pipeline feeding a big refinery.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) has confirmed the attack by armed militants on its Warri-Escravos pipeline in the Niger Delta.

Violence in the oil-rich Delta region had subsided over the last year following a ceasefire agreement giving amnesty to militants.

But a small faction of Mend has recently resumed kidnappings and raids.

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More News On Nigeria's Oil Delta Rebels

Nigerian Rebels Confirm Attack on Refinery Pipeline -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Militant group says it has attacked Nigerian oil pipeline -- CNN
MEND takes credit for Nigerian oil attack -- UPI
Nigeria: The Return of the Militants -- allAfrica.com
Nigeria: Kaduna Refinery Shut After Pipeline Attack -- allAfrica.com
Nigeria: What do the Niger Deltans Desire? -- NGex

Nigeria's Rebels Threaten More Kidnappings And Attacks Against Oil Facilities

Photo from Vanguard

Nigerian Militant Group Threatens More Kidnappings in Niger Delta -- Voice of America

Nigerian militants have threatened to carry out more kidnappings in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta region, despite an ongoing military crackdown.

The region's main militant group, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), said in an email Friday its fighters have been instructed to attack oil facilities and kidnap people.

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More News On Nigeria's Conflict With Militant Groups

Nigerian militants warn of more oil delta kidnappings -- Yahoo News/Reuters
Nigeria: Oil delta militants issue new threat -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Nigerian militants vow to make fresh kidnappings -- Yahoo News/AFP
Nigeria Oil Militants Warn Of More Kidnappings -- RTT News
Nigerian Rebels Say They Killed 10 Soldiers in Delta -- Bloomberg
Jonathan warns militants to desist or face fire -- NEXT
Nigeria President Vows Hard Line On Niger Delta Insurgents -- Nasdaq
Fear grips Delta communities as JTF, militants clash -- Nigerian Compass
Army, militants in fresh war -- Vanguard
Nigeria: Task Force Uncovers Arms in Rivers, Delta, Bayelsa Militant Camps -- allAfrica.com
Nigeria: JTF Shuts Down 14 Militant Camps, Rescues 19 Hostages -- allAfrica.com
Freed hostages in Nigeria describe 'shocking' ordeal -- Yahoo News/AFP
Nigerian Military Frees Hostages -- Wall Street Journal

With Truce Broken, Nigeria's Military Preparing To Enter The Niger Delta Region

Military To Step Up Activities In Niger Delta Region -- CNN

Kaduna. Nigeria (CNN) -- Nigeria's military has ordered an incursion into militant camps in the oil-rich Niger Delta region after violence flared up again with attacks against oil companies and foreign workers, a military spokesman said Saturday.

Chief of Defense Staff Oluseyi Petirin said he has directed the Joint Task Force (JTF) to "occupy all militant camps in the Niger Delta and directed civilians in the environment of the camps to evacuate to "avoid collateral damage."

This would be the first military offensive since a brokered amnesty in the region.

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More News On Nigeria's Continuing War Against Armed Groups In The Niger Delta Region

Nigerian military warns of action in oil delta -- Reuters
Nigeria warns armed gangs in oil-rich Niger Delta -- AFP
Nigerian military warns residents near militant camp to avoid becoming 'collateral damage' -- Canadian Press
Nigeria's military warns gangs in Niger delta to leave -- International Business Times
Nigeria: Militant group releases hostage list -- Bloomberg Businessweek
Nigerian Militants Release Nationalities of Oil Rig Hostages -- Voice of America
Nigerian militants name seven foreign hostages -- AFP

War Is Returning To Nigeria's Oil Producing Regions

Fighters with the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND. Photo AFP

Blasts Rock Nigeria Amnesty Talks -- Wall Street Journal

ABUJA, Nigeria—Two bombs exploded early Monday outside a government building in the city of Warri, a Nigerian oil hub, said officials and witnesses, dealing a blow to a peace deal that aimed to prevent militant attacks on the nation's oil infrastructure.

The attacks occurred just minutes before state governors were to convene to discuss a government peace program with Niger Delta militants. Several state governors had already taken their seats for the event when bombs in two nearby vehicles were detonated, say witnesses and officials. Although several people were injured, there were no immediate reports of casualties.

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More News On The Unrest In Nigeria's Oil Producing Regions

Nigeria committed to amnesty in oil delta -Jonathan -- Reuters
Rebel group bombs Nigerian government building -- CNN
Blasts rock Nigerian 'oil war' amnesty ceremony -- AFP
Delta bombings deepen crisis in Nigeria -- UPI
Militants threaten oil industry after double car bombing -- The Independent
Nigeria is falling apart, says Nobel prize-winning author -- The Independent
Q+A-The implications of bomb attacks in Nigeria's oil delta -- Reuters
A timeline of MEND attacks -- NEXT

Nigeria's Ceasefire With Oil Delta Rebels Have Broken Down

This 2008 photo shows fighters of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta (MEND). The armed Nigerian group announced it is calling off its unilateral ceasefire decreed on October 25 in the country's vital oil-producing southern region. (AFP/File/Pius Utomi Ekpei)

Niger Delta Militants Call Off Truce With Nigeria -- Yahoo News/AP

LAGOS, Nigeria – The main militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta called off its cease-fire with the government Saturday morning, dealing a potential death blow to a presidential amnesty program aimed at ending violence that has crippled production in the West African nation.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta issued a statement saying it would no longer abide by the unconditional Oct. 25 cease-fire President Umaru Yar'Adua had negotiated with the group. The militants warned oil producers with pipelines and personnel working in the creeks and swamps of the Delta that it would wage an "an all-out onslaught" against them.

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More News On The Breakdown Of The Oil Truce In Nigeria

Nigerian oil rebels threaten 'all-out' attacks -- Yahoo News/AFP
Nigerian oil rebels threaten 'all-out' attacks -- AFP
Nigeria rebels threaten attacks on oil industry -- The Telegraph
Nigeria militants end truce in Niger Delta oil region -- BBC
Nigerian oil militants end ceasefire, warns of 'onslaught' -- Earth Times
Nigerian Rebels Calls Off Ceasefire -- Times Of Nigeria
MEND declares all out war in Niger Delta as amnesty flounders -- Business Day
MEND calls off ceasefire, threatens attacks on oil companies -- NEXT
SNAP ANALYSIS-Nigerian oil militants end ceasefire -- Reuters
FACTBOX-The genesis of Nigeria's main oil militant group -- Reuters

Will Civil War Return To Nigeria's Oil Delta Region

Growing Disenchantment Threatens Nigeria's Peace Process -- Voice Of America

Nigeria's fragile truce with rebels in the oil-rich Niger Delta appears to be under serious threat. Former militants are protesting the non-payment of allowances and militants have blown up an oil pipeline in a "warning strike" over delays in peace talks.

More than 8,000 Nigerian armed youths gave up their weapons and embraced an amnesty offered by the government in a bid to end years of conflict in the oil-producing Niger Delta.

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More News On The Faltering Peace Process In Nigeria's Oil Delta Region

Truce in Nigeria’s oil region starts to unravel -- UPI
Activist: Peace in jeopardy in Nigeria -- UPI
Protests over amnesty delays hit Nigeria oil delta -- Reuters
Absent leader leaves Lagos on edge - analysts -- IOL
In Nigeria, an Ailing President and Peace Process -- Time Magazine
Nigeria's Ailing President Under Pressure to Resign -- Voice of America

Nigerian Militant Says Army Attack Despite Amnesty

From Yahoo News/Reuters:

PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria (Reuters) – A rebel commander in Nigeria's oil heartland on Monday accused the military of attacking one of his fellow militants with gunboats, underlining the fragility of an amnesty offer from President Umaru Yar'Adua.

Ateke Tom, who leads a militant faction in Rivers state in the eastern Niger Delta, said fellow rebel leader Soboma George had visited him at his camp in the creeks on Sunday after returning from the capital Abuja to discuss Yar'Adua's offer.

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More News On The War In Nigeria's Oil Delta Region

Nigerian Army Rejects Calls to Withdraw from the Niger Delta -- Voice of America
Militants Meet Nigeria Leader After Laying Down Guns -- New York Times
Shell sees uncertain future in Nigeria operations -- Business Day

My Comment: There have been amnesties and truces in the past between the Nigerian Government and the people who live in this area .... so .... will history repeat itself?

The Nigerian Oil Delta has some of the richest oil deposits in the world, estimated (at current prices) to be worth between $3 to $4 trillion dollars. With that much wealth at stake .... and with numerous groups vying to have their hands in that pot .... it will be a miracle if hostilities do not resume soon.

Pipeline Attack Hits Nigeria's Crude Production

The FPSO Bonga (Floating, Production, Storage and Offloading) off the coast of Nigeria, south of Lagos. Britain is to help Nigeria crack down on violence which has disrupted oil supplies in the troubled Niger Delta through a security training force.

From the Telegraph:

Attacks on an oil pipeline cost Nigeria another 50,000 barrels a day of production, threatening a further rise in global crude prices.

The explosion, which damaged a pipe owned by a subsidiary of Eni, an Italian firm, came a day after militants in speedboats attacked a Nigerian navy vessel, killing five people.

Violence in the Niger Delta, where most of Nigeria's 36 billion barrels of proven oil reserves are found, has cut the country's daily crude output – which should total 2.5 million barrels – by at least 25 per cent.

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More News On Nigeria's Internal Conflicts

Nigeria: Pre-dawn explosion damages oil pipeline -- Yahoo News/AP
Nigerian villagers blow up key Agip pipeline: industry sources -- AFP
Nigerian Armed Group Denies Targeting Navy Vessel -- Voice Of America
Nigeria's Delta blues -- Guardian
Nigerian oil workers union threatens to pull members out of Delta -- AFP
Nigerian activists reject UK plan -- BBC

My Comment: Nigeria has 36 billion barrels of proven reserves. At a price of $135 per barrel, we are talking 4.5 to 5 trillion dollars. I repeat ..... 4.5 to 5 trillion dollars.

It is no surprise that everyone is fighting for a share of the pie.