NIGERIA: HOSTAGE CRISIS CONTINUES, MILITARY GETS

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