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Oil facilities seized by villagers { October 26 2006 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wonige264948287oct26,0,2825080.story?coll=ny-worldnews-print http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/world/ny-wonige264948287oct26,0,2825080.story?coll=ny-worldnews-print Oil facilities seized THE ASSOCIATED PRESS October 26, 2006 LAGOS, Nigeria - Angry villagers seized three Shell Oil platforms in the volatile Niger Delta yesterday, forcing production to be shut down at each, the company said. Royal Dutch Shell PLC officials declined to say how much oil had been cut off after the platforms were attacked. Chevron Corp. said it shut down a platform in the area as a precaution. Over the past decade, villagers have often stormed facilities of oil companies they believe are taking wealth from their land and giving little back. Most such seizures have ended peacefully. Shell said members of the Kula community near the three oil pumping stations invaded the facilities, accusing the oil giant of failing to meet the terms of an agreement to provide them aid. Chevron said government officials in charge of the area were holding negotiations with the protesters. It was not immediately clear what happened to the people who were working on the Shell platforms at the time. Despite sitting atop much of Nigeria's oil reserves, the inhabitants of the southern oil region remain among the most impoverished in the country. With little or no influence on the government, they frequently demand jobs, schools and electricity from oil companies that run joint ventures with the Nigerian state. This year, armed militias that claim to be fighting for similar causes have seized foreign oil workers as hostages, either for ransom or to back demands for more local control of oil wealth. Copyright 2006 Newsday Inc.

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