12 Dead In New Pipeline Violence In Niger Delta

A fierce gunbattle between Nigerian Army soldiers and members of an alleged "bunkering" - oil theft - gang in the Niger Delta left 12 of the pipeline thieves dead, UpstreamOnline reported this morning.

The incident, while one of the more serious of recent days, follows at least three pipeline blasts that in one case leveled an entire community and left many children and others dead.

Thieves are said to steal more $1 billion of oil annually in Nigeria, which pumps about $30 billion worth each year. The Upstream report says the amount of theft has been reduced after a government crackdown from 100,000 barrels per day to about 20,000 barrels per day.

Such gunbattles have grown more or less common in recent years, but it uncertain whether they actually solve anything or prevent more trouble. Usually, the dead thieves are replaced by others and by rivals overnight, and sometimes attacks aimed at retribution also occur.

Here is the Upstream report:

12 shot dead at Niger Delta pipeline

By Upstream staff

Nigerian troops have killed 12 men caught stealing oil from a pipeline in the southern state of Delta.

Siphoning oil from pipelines, a practice known locally as bunkering, is common in the Niger Delta, a vast region of mangrove creeks and swamps that accounts for almost all of Nigeria's 2.4 million barrels per day production of crude.

Government official Isiaka Pachiko said troops on patrol in remote Oghara community stumbled on a group of bunkerers on Saturday who had heavy drilling equipment and four trucks ready to be loaded with oil.

A gun battle broke out and 12 of the suspected oil thieves were killed, three were injured and five were arrested, Pachiko said. He did not mention any casualties among the troops.

The Nigerian security forces have been cracking down on bunkering this year, and industry officials estimate that large-scale oil theft has dropped from 100,000 bpd earlier this year to about 20,000 now because of a heavier military presence.

Some oil industry workers suspect that frustration over the crackdown may be one of the reasons behind a recent spate of pipeline attacks.

A suspected dynamite blast at a Shell pipeline in neighbouring Rivers state on 20 December killed 11 people and cut output by 180,000 bpd.

Pachiko said the pipeline the bunkerers were targeting is operated by oil junior PanOcean.