NNPC PIPELINE FIRE

UNCLAS LAGOS 002561 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/W STATE FOR EB/ESC/IEC/ENR/BLEVINE STATE FOR DS/IP/AF STATE FOR INR/AA STATE PASS DOE FOR DAS JBRODMAN AND CGAY STATE PASS TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS AND SRENANDER STATE PASS DOC PHUEPER STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION MARAD STATE PASS USAID FOR GWEYNAND AND SLAWAETZ STATE PASS EX-IM FOR JRICHTER STATE PASS OPIC FOR CDUFFY STATE PASS TDA FOR BTERNET E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EPET EINV NI ENERG SUBJECT: NNPC PIPELINE FIRE REF: Lagos 1940 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Press reports indicate a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipeline was vandalized, with the resulting spill set ablaze in the Lagos exburb of Ilado on December 20. The pipeline fire was reportedly extinguished late December 22, although NNPC was not willing to confirm this. Consulate personnel confirmed the presence of smoke and a large fire in that general area. Fatalities are likely, and there are unconfirmed reports that toll may reach 200. The NNPC pipeline carried fuel from the Atlas Cove Jetty to NNPC fuel depots in Ejigbo, Lagos and Mosimi in Ogun State. ¶2. (U) The press reports that NNPC security and the police were attempting to arrest the bunkerers, when the bunkerers ignited the fire in retaliation. The blaze quickly spread in the nearby area. This was the second major fire in the Ilado area in the last three months; the previous fire killed around fifty. Ilado now has a reputation as a "haven for illegal bunkering." BROWNE#