NIGERIA: SHELL'S "SEA EAGLE" ENDANGERED

UNCLAS ABUJA 000824 SIPDIS SENSITIVE CAIRO FOR MAXSTADT E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PINS PGOV EPET NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: SHELL'S "SEA EAGLE" ENDANGERED ¶1. April 29 local newspapers reported that Shell's newly deployed Floating Production and Storage and Offloading Platform (FPSO),the "Sea Eagle," had been threatened by unidentified criminal elements in the Delta. Shell's Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC),reportedly had asked the federal government for protection of the giant off-shore facility, which was deployed in October 2002 to a position some 15 miles off the coast of Delta State. Two days earlier SPDC ran full-page adds in local papers highlighting the threat and appealing to "all well-meaning and law-abiding citizens" to prevent criminals from attacking the Sea Eagle. ¶2. Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) on May 2 contacted SPDC's Lagos-based Security Manager, who confirmed that he had received "credible information" that militant youths in Delta State were planning to launch a seaborne attack on the Sea Eagle. The youth reportedly were upset at not being offered employment or other "concessions" by Shell for the deployment of the FPSO off the Delta State coast. SPDC points out in its April 27 public notice that over 100 new jobs for nearby communities were created as the result of the Sea Eagle's deployment. ¶3. The SPDC Security Manager said he had assurances from the Navy Chief of Staff that the two USG-donated coastal patrol boats would be used to protect the Sea Eagle from attack. The Sea Eagle serves as an off-shore oil terminal, capable of processing 170,000 barrels of oil and 100 million cubic feet of gas per day. It also has storage capacity of 1.4 million barrels of crude oil. JETER