media advisory
friends of the earth international
new african gas pipeline worries civil
society
ACCRA (GHANA) September 9, 2005 – Civil
society groups from West Africa met in Accra
today, just two weeks after the construction
of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) began
off the Ghanaian coast.
The groups warned that the pipeline
project and the so-called WAGP Treaty
seriously undermine the national sovereignty
of Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria and subvert
these countries’ rights to seek alternative
energy options. At the same time, the project
enshrines the energy monopoly of oil giants
Chevron and Shell in the region.
The groups maintain that the pipeline
project risks prolonging ongoing conflicts in
the oil and gas-rich Niger delta in
Nigeria.
Representatives from communities living
near the pipeline route in Nigeria and Ghana
report that they have not been properly
consulted, suggesting that the World Bank,
one of the main project financiers with its
40 million USD guarantee, may be violating
its own commitment to invest only in projects
that have broad community support.
According to Asume Osuoka of Friends of
the Earth Nigeria/Environmental Rights Action
in Nigeria, “The compensation1 available to
displaced community people in Nigeria is a
mockery, as low as USD 20. This constitutes a
gross violation of livelihood security.”
The West African Gas Pipeline, one of the
region’s largest trans-boundary investments,
is projected to cost 617 million USD and will
ultimately transport gas from Nigeria through
Benin and Togo to Ghana.
The World Bank and project sponsors like
Shell and Chevron claim that the pipeline
will contribute to putting an end to
dangerous gas flaring in Nigeria, that it
will provide cheap energy, and that it will
promote regional integration.
However, to date there is no evidence to
supports these claims, according to Friends
of the Earth International, the world’s
largest grassroots environmental
federation.
Gas flaring, the burning of natural gas
associated with oil extraction, has gone on
for decades in the Niger Delta despite the
fact that it is a human rights, environmental
and economic disaster [1].
Shell, Chevron and the World Bank claim
that the West African Gas Pipeline will
channel away ‘associated gas’ from existing
Nigerian oil fields where it is now burned,
but environmentalists are unconvinced.
According to Asume Osuoka of Friends of
the Earth Nigeria/Environmental Rights Action
in Nigeria, “In the current plans, there is
no evidence of the intention to capture
associated gas from existing oil fields,
which leads us to believe that gas would be
sourced from new gas fields and increase
existing problems in the Niger Delta.”
In Nigeria, 66% of the population lives
below the poverty line and the benefits of
nearly half a century of oil production have
flowed almost exclusively to oil
multinationals and corrupt local elite.
Civil society representatives also do not
believe that the pipeline would provide cheap
energy or promote regional integration.
According to Noble Wadzah of Friends of
the Earth Ghana, “The West African Gas
Pipeline contracts lock our country into a
long-term costly energy supply. The ordinary
Ghanaian citizen or small business may not be
able to access this energy, which is
primarily destined for large businesses.”
Some Ghanaians think that long-time
tensions in the Niger Delta would render the
gas supply unreliable.
“Gas coming from the Niger Delta, an area
of social conflicts and environmental
tragedies, could hardly be the basis for the
sound integration of our region. This project
is more likely to foster regional
disintegration and social and political
tensions in West Africa,” said Noble
Wadzah.
“Energy must be available not just for the
elite and industry, but also for everyone
else who needs it, especially rural
communities,” he added.
for more information contact:
Asume Osuoka of Environmental Rights
Action, Nigeria: +233-243726168 (only Sept.9)
or +234 84 236365 (after September 10) or
email oilwatch@phca.linkserve.com
In Ghana: Noble Wadzah, Friends of the
Earth Ghana, Tel: + 233-215123 11-12-13 email
kowadzah9@yahoo.com
In the US: Michelle Medeiros, Friends of
the Earth in Washington DC + 1-202-222
0717 (office) or + 1 202 321 1510 (mobile) or
email mmedeiros@foe.org
In the UK: Hannah Ellis, Friends of the
Earth in London +44 207 566 1601 or email
hannahe@foe.co.uk
In the Netherlands: Janneke Bruil, Friends
of the Earth International , +31-6-52118998
or email janneke@foei.org
notes to editors
[1] The gas flaring report is available
online here:
http://www.climatelaw.org/gas.flaring/report
pictures
High-resolution photos of scenes of gas
flaring in Nigeria can be freely downloaded
at
http://www.idspicturedesk.com/picturedesk/I?k=icn85ZN347-49423&u=aGO
http://www.idspicturedesk.com/picturedesk/I?k=Om4Noo55XK-66585&u=yFf
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