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

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Summary
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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#