In reply to Bruce Hooker:
> (In reply to Rob Naylor)
>
> I think Nigeria was still at the top of the most corrupt countries in the world table that is published regularly and quite recently was said to be one of the most dangerous... The stories of pipeline explosions and the film of dozens or even hundreds of charred bodies we see regularly on the TV news would seem to contradict the rosy view of things.
>
There's no "rosy view of things" from here (read what I've actually been writing, rather than what you think I wrote). And I don't need to see the TV news to know what it's like there...I visit the place regularly.
I'm not denying that there are pipeline explosions, resulting in dozens or even hundreds of deaths. What I was questioning was your implication that these explosions are due to poor maintenance by the oil companies. Every case I've seen for the last 5 years the explosions have come about due to locals trying to tap into the pipelines.
> I don't know if one can put all the blame on the oil companies but if a bunch of people got into the habit of breaking into pipe lines to steal the contents and blowing themselves up on a regular basis in Europe don't you think public opinion and the state might not just put a bit of the blame on the lack of security and consider that those exploiting the pipeline were a teeny bit responsible?
The pipeline "exploiters" (ie the people who paid for it to be built, paid for the exploration and paid for the drilling and pumping) do not have standing armies of their own. They are reliant for security on the Nigerian government, who take a good whack in taxes and should therefore be able to provide a level of security. But they can't even provide decent security at main bases, never mind over every yard of thousands of miles of pipelines.
Certain areas of the Delta are virtual no-go areas for government troops anyway. You could say that if the population of the Delta was getting a fair deal from the government, then they wouldn't have any incentive to break into pipelines, but knowing Nigeria as I do, I think that this would not be the case...even if the Delta region was receiving the vast majority of oil revenue, people would still bust the pipes.
Same as the locals on survey boats...paid extremely well by local standards, fed well on board, but still stuff their bags with tins and tins of food when they demob home. It represents a fraction of a percent of their salaries, but they still risk their jobs for it.
This is at the door of the government, NOT the oil companies. If there was a change of government, the power balance would shift, but the behaviour would be the same, and the oil cos would have to deal with the new corrupt people just as the dealt with the old ones.
If the western oil companies became "super-ethical" and pulled out, the vacuum would immediately be filled by the Chinese, then we'd see a huge reduction in safety and environmental problems (way above what we see now) just as we have in Sudan.
Yes, Nigeria is as corrupt as hell. Yes, the western oil companies cosy up to a corrupt government. Mostly, though, they *do* attempt to do the best they can under the circumstances. It's certainly not true, as you imply, that the Nigerian nation is completely exploited by these companies...a lot of money from oil and related taxes goes into Nigerian coffers and it's hardly the fault of the oil cos that much of it goes straight out to accounts in Switzerland and elsewhere, or to pay for grandiose projects that are of no benefit to citizens.