US embassy cable - 03ABUJA807

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABUJA 000807 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2013 
TAGS: CASC, ASEC, EPET, ENRG, ECON, PINS, PGOV, NI 
SUBJECT: NIGERIA: HOSTAGE CRISIS CONTINUES, MILITARY GETS 
INVOLVED 
 
REF: A. JETER-LEDESMA MAY 1 TELCON 
     B. ABUJA 806 
     C. ABUJA 768 
 
 
Classified by Ambassador Howard F. Jeter for reason 
1.5 (d). 
 
 
Summary 
------- 
1. (C) Transocean Sedco Forex officials confirm that striking 
oil workers still hold 273 hostages--including 17 U.S. 
citizens and 79 other expatriates--on four rigs off Port 
Harcourt. The company's Managing Director Ian Clark says the 
platforms have been re-supplied with sufficient quantities of 
food and water, but admits there have been threats of 
physical violence directed at the hostages. However, he 
states that the hostages continue to be in good health and do 
not appear to be in immediate danger. Nigerian naval vessels 
have anchored in the vicinity of the rigs--the Navy's purpose 
is to deliver the court injunction requiring that the 
strikers depart. Sources indicate that the military has no 
imminent plans to use force to deliver the injunction. 
Meanwhile, negotiations between the workers and company 
officials, mediated by NUPENG, are stalled. In a separate 
incident, the Nigerian Navy freed workers on a Shell rig 
taken over by Ijaw youths. There were no reported injuries 
and the youths have been taken into custody. End Summary. 
 
 
Supplies Replenished, Threats of Violence Confirmed 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
2. (U) Clark told Econoff on May 1 that food and water 
supplies had been running low, but that additional supplies 
were offloaded by crane from a supply vessel. None of the 
supply vessel personnel boarded the rig. He also explained 
that during the episode, tempers had flared intermittently on 
the rig and some irate workers had indeed threatened the 
hostages with bodily harm; however, he said again that he 
felt the hostages were in no immediate danger. Clark told the 
Ambassador that these threats were not reoccurring and had 
been particularly directed at two rig managers in an effort 
to put pressure on Transocean Sedco Forex management to give 
in. 
 
 
3. (U) Clark said the 25 or so striking oil workers on each 
rig have been able to prevent the hostages from leaving by 
blocking the helipads. There are lifeboats sufficient to 
ferry everyone off the rigs, but it would be difficult to 
safely use them unless everyone agreed to leave the rigs. 
Striking workers could easily prevent access to the boats or 
make using them a dangerous proposition. Although the 
striking workers are outnumbered, the hostages would also be 
putting themselves in danger by attempting to subdue their 
captors, Clark added. He emphasized the need for a peaceful 
settlement. 
 
 
4. (C) Clark explained that the letter he had written the 
Rivers State Police Commissioner was factual but 
intentionally alarmist in tone to get the immediate attention 
of the police. (Note: A copy of the letter was faxed April 30 
to AF/W. Ref B, Paragraph 2 also mentions the letter. End 
Note) 
 
 
Nigerian Military Gets Involved 
------------------------------- 
5. (C) The President's Special Advisor on Foreign Affairs 
Ad'obe Obe told the Ambassador May 1 that Obasanjo viewed the 
crisis seriously and had convened an April 30 security 
meeting with top civilian and military advisors to look for 
solutions. He said that they had agreed to send naval vessels 
to the area in order to deliver the Federal High Court 
injunction requiring an end to the wildcat strike. Obe 
emphasized that there were no plans to use force to deliver 
the injunctions or remove the striking oil workers. A GON 
military source confirmed that naval vessels are now anchored 
in the vicinity of the platforms. The source indicates that 
there is no specific timeline for delivery of the injunction 
and that there are no plans to use force. (Note: These 
vessels may be the two buoy tenders the USG donated to the 
GON earlier this year. These vessels were already being 
deployed in that general area to discourage a local community 
from following through on plans to sabotage a separate Shell 
rig. Post is attempting to confirm whether the buoy tenders 
are the vessels anchored near the rigs. End Note.) 
 
 
6. (C) General Sylvester, Chief of Staff and second in 
command at EUCOM, spoke with Nigerian Chief of Defense 
Admiral Oghohi to express his concern with the situation and 
request that force not be used to solve it. Oghohi said there 
were no imminent plans to carry out any military mission (Ref 
A). 
 
 
Negotiations Stalled 
-------------------- 
7. (U) NUPENG officials continue to disavow the strike but 
are serving as intermediaries for negotiations. Clark and 
other Transocean Sedco Forex officials report that 
negotiations in Lagos on May 30 with NUPENG officials had 
resulted in agreement that dismissal of the five workers who 
instigated the situation was justified and would stick. 
However, NUPENG is balking at the company's demand that all 
workers involved in the hostage-taking also be dismissed. 
Company officials say negotiations will resume May 2. 
Meanwhile, Clark reports that National Labour Congress 
President Oshiomole is working behind the scenes to encourage 
a negotiated solution. The Ambassador was in touch with 
Oshiomole yesterday and he promised that he would engage on 
the issue, including with top NUPENG executives. Post plans 
to follow up with Oshiomole on May 2. 
 
 
8. (C) Clark said NUPENG might be willing to take a more 
active role in resolving the situation if pressured from the 
GON. In particular, he suggested a forceful letter from 
Minister of Labor and Productivity Musa Gwadabe to the NUPENG 
leadership might produce the necessary fillip. The Ambassador 
and the ranking British High Commission official plan to see 
the Minister to recommend this course of action. 
 
 
A Busy Week in the Delta 
------------------------ 
9. (U) Local press reported May 1 the peaceful end to a 
hostage-taking on a Chevron rig off the Bayelsa State coast. 
According to the press report, Chevron's off-shore platform 
was taken over earlier this week by Ijaw youths who held 
hostage the local and expatriate Chevron staff working on the 
platform until the Navy yesterday rescued the staff and 
arrested the youth. The press report claimed the youth took 
over the platform because they were owed money by Chevron. 
The report also claimed that the takeover and subsequent shut 
down of two additional nearby platforms led to the loss of 
100,000 barrels of crude oil production per day. 
 
 
10. (SBU) Chevron-Texaco General Manager for Public and 
Governmental Relations Sola Omole confirmed the basic details 
of this account. He noted that the platform takeover was 
brief and ended peacefully.  Omole claims the Ijaw youth were 
not armed and were "home guards" paid by Chevron who for 
unexplained reasons had not received their remuneration for 
the past three months. (Comment: Chevron-Texaco, like other 
companies, often pays idle youth to serve as "home guards" 
protecting the company's facilities in the area. This is 
little more than payoff to youths who threaten oil company 
installations with sabotage. End Comment.) Omole denied that 
any significant oil production was lost as the result of this 
take-over, noting that only 27,000 barrels per day is 
produced from this area. Omole confirmed that the Navy 
effected the rescue and had taken the Ijaw youths into 
custody. 
JETER