Almost 2 years ago we passed Consensus that Shell is an evil Corporation and we should boycott them over the oil spill in Nigeria... losangelesga.net/2011/12/boycott-shell/ However we have continued to cover this, and many of us continue the boycott. Recently Ten top officials of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund, PTDF, were on Friday served their sack letters, as the Federal Government began implementation of the recommendations of the ministerial personnel audit conducted by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources in five of the parastatals under its supervision, in April. Read more: premiumtimesng/business/146843-10-dismissed-sack-fever-grips-top-nigeria-oil-industry-officials.html?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-dismissed-sack-fever-grips-top-nigeria-oil-industry-officials But does this really mean much to those risking their lives to refine this oil? t is possibly the most dangerous workplace in the world. Young men and women, often working at night, pump crude oil from barges into massive tanks or open air pits, heat it to boiling point with naked flames and then pass the liquid through water-cooled pipes where it condenses and evaporates. Black smoke billows across the swamps, the waste oil residues are tipped straight into the waterways, and at any point the tanks could explode. Developed country health and safety officers would despair, but the 500 or more small-scale illegal oil refineries that have sprung up across the Niger delta in the past five years make diesel and kerosene of good enough quality to use in generators and cars. But the very real risks of death, illness, pollution and the Nigerian armed forces smashing up the camps are all outweighed by the lure of jobs and money in impoverished communities. No sooner has one refinery camp been broken up than another reopens. Nigerian authorities estimate that around 150,000 barrels of oil is stolen every day directly from the thousands of kilometres of pipelines that cross the oil rich delta states, and that possibly 25% of this is then taken to makeshift DIY refineries. Until now little has been known about how they operate or are funded, or how important they are for the local economy. But a report by Stakeholder Democracy Network (SDN) in Port Harcourt, based on interviews with the operators of nine illegal refineries in three delta states, gives an idea of the vicious circle of pollution and self-destruction that now determines life in the communities, and why the refineries are sanctioned in the full knowledge that they will pollute and destroy livelihoods. Read More: theguardian/global-development/2013/oct/16/poor-nigerians-risk-refining-stolen-oil We hope that our followers continue to boycott shell, until the people of Nigeria have a real stake in the oil their country produces, and dont have to risk their lives to get a little piece of the pie, that barely supports their families. #Nigeria #Oil #Shell #Boycott -LS
Posted on: Mon, 21 Oct 2013 04:00:01 +0000
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