Shell faces violence in Nigeria

Violence has escalated in the volatile Niger delta with up to 15 people killed in intercommunity conflicts in the past week and oil companies forced to evacuate staff and cut production.

Shell Nigeria, the largest oil company in Nigeria's delta region, said yesterday it had been forced to shut down 10 oil-flow stations and that it was losing 126,000 barrels a day of crude, after the escalation of the crisis in the state of Delta.

The company said it had evacuated 145 workers from its Escravos oil centre, which had been partly burned down by rampaging youths. Chevron/ Texaco said it was losing 30,000 barrels a day, and TotalFinaElf said it was forced to close a large gas terminal after youth groups invaded it demanding work.

The crisis began last week as a conflict between the Nigerian navy and Ijaw youths who have been vying with the rival Itsekiri people for control of waterways in the area around the oil city of Warri. Rampaging Ijaw youth, using speedboats, attacked six small Itsekiri towns, destroying buildings and forcing hundreds of people to flee to Warri and elsewhere.

The government information minister, Jerry Gana, said that the latest intercommunity skirmish was politically motivated "to discredit the present democratic government" in the run-up to national elections next month. But much violence is between rival groups jostling for amenities, such as hospitals provided by oil companies.