Nigerian tragedy: The future Hell Rossport can expect from Shell?

by BluePanther Fri Feb 02, 2007 19:30

The protests are more anti-shell than anti-having oil pipes near their houses. It says the Nigerian oil disaster was caused after vandals messed with the pipes. Lets say vandals cut the breaks of parked BMW cars here in Ireland so the owners crash, do we stop selling BMWs then?

by Dougal Tue Jan 02, 2007 17:36

Cool J

Has it not been stated that the pipeline pressure is to be reduced…

Is it not the case that the pipeline is to be protected either side with Sheet piling and other stabilization methods to improve the ground stability. …

So the Dooncarton landslide extended to rossport and bellinaboy /…..are we moving the map now cool J.?

One can be killed going to work by car/plane/ bus etc. – In fact hundreds die in the uk and Ireland every year on the roads These people are well paid for the work they do - I would have no problem traveling to work by helicopter - in fact it’s far safer than commuting on Irish roads ….
Fair play your not shifting the goal posts there cool j?

If that’s the case why not include the above modes of transport in you next protest…

Helicopters are used by oil/gas workers all over the world with thousands of routine incident free trips made every day ….. Don’t tell us what we already know.

At least these workers have a choice and are well briefed on every facet of the job. The people of Rossport have no such luxuries and are being forced along with their families to accept this dodgy project which none of the noisier shell apologists would accept anywhere near their own homes or families.

Back to you old self again cool j, the protestors had ample opportunity to enter in to meaning full dialogue as past 2 years with the project partners and the government. However this channel was not taken and now events have over taken them.
Look like they played the wrong game …

by cool j Mon Jan 01, 2007 23:52

God help us he calls himself the "the voice of reason" - It must be your type in various government departments who think its a good idea to conduct a huge experiment in North Mayo by running a raw gas pipe at massive pressures through unstable blanket bog in an area prone to landslides - voice of reason all right!!.

PS - Ted - One can be killed going to work by car/plane/ bus etc. - In fact hundreds die in the uk and ireland every year on the roads. These people are well paid for the work they do - I would have no problem travelling to work by helicoptor - in fact its far safer than commuting on irish roads. Helicoptors are used by oil/gas workers all over the world with thousands of routiene incident free trips made every day .At least these workers have a choice and are well briefed on every facet of the job. The people of Rossport have no such luxuries and are being forced along with their families to accept this dodgy project which none of the noisier shell apologists would accept anywhere near their own homes or families.

by John Kelly Mon Jan 01, 2007 20:25

Many thanks Majella, The Irish Times carried this story on it's front page with a graphic and eye catching picture. Thankfully FO'Toole is back and is now Deputy Editor, that may be something to do with it? The rest of the media here ? I am trying to ascertain who reported what on this particular story. Think of it December 26th, they are usually scratching around for stories. December 27th 9pm News RTE ,neither stir nor breadth was made heard or made. The second main story :The sales and an American Lady talking about her "Awesome" experience of same in Dublin. Any news on the injured from the blast ,even considering the Vatican sent condolences? not a word ! REASONANCE MAYO perhaps.

by m.m.mccarron - o.s.i Mon Jan 01, 2007 17:30

Commentators in Nigeria point out several aspects of these regular disasters. Oil pipelines run through habitated areas. Lagos has a population of 20 million. The pipelines affected carry refined petoleum which is being pumped from a central facility on the coast to depots throuhout the vast country. They are in a vulnerable position and it is true that vandals either make holes and take the product or very often the pipes poorly maintained spring leaks. Often there is no electicity and open cooking fires are everywhere as are lighted cigarettes and mobile phones. The very act of scooping up petrol with metallic implements creates sparks. There is any number of ways of starting a fire once the petrol is exposed. It is often left lying when it leaks.Nigerians have become fatalistic about death in such cases taking the risk... The State services are very poorly eqipped to respond to either case. The structures of Government are very weak in Nigeria which has a population of 140 million. Democracy of the Western type and the stitching together of an area by Western colonial powers out of a myriad of ethnic nationalities has made it impossible to ever have a stable national political structure. There is never enough of anything which leads to all kinds of racketering...
The helicopter crash in Morecambe Bay supports the opinion of Shell to Sea that gas and oil activity is an accident prone and dirty business anywhere and one does one's best to limit its impact.
One can google nigeriaworld and find lots of local comment. On the left of the web page are a number of Nigerian newspapers such as Nigerian Vanguard and Nigerian Guardian easy to access.

by John Kelly Sun Dec 31, 2006 19:55

Did anyone see or hear RTE coverage of this event ? Can you let me know when and at what time ? I could not get through to their newsdesk etc by phone. Their website on Wed night, Dec 27th had nothing on this story, however a quick look at the BBC website on the same night elicited the story, along with Papal letters of condolences and a list of other Nigerian pipeline explosions going back to 1998. The Newstalk station refused to check their news stories of two days back when I phoned last Thursday. This was in marked contrast to other queries where they were most helpful in checking back stories.

No conclusions drawn yet but some assistance would be appreciated with this info.

Many Thanks, J K

by Voice of Reason Fri Dec 29, 2006 16:36

Unless someone In Mayo plans to siphon off gas and blows themselves up accidentally.

It's heartrending to see hundreds of poverty stricken people in a backward dump like Nigeria desperate to get their hands on fuel getting literally incinerated.
I saw some of the more graphic pictures on the internet showing nothing left but blackened skeletons.

by none Fri Dec 29, 2006 14:59

Yeah robbers robbing from thieves, the line was broken into to, but if you saw those pictures you would have seen houses all around the oil line, now this might have been unregulated slums but it seemed like a typical part of shell operations in Nigeria.

by Ted - NSTSCG Fri Dec 29, 2006 05:22

Cool J,
“You are our Hero”
Just wondering what is your opinion on the helicopter crash which took place 2 days ago. 6 Men lost their lives whilst being transported from Blackpool airport to an offshore gas platform. Seems strange that you eager to rant and rave about a pipeline explosion which took place in Africa while this tragedy occurred less than 300 miles away?

No doubt this post will last a matter of seconds before it is removed, typical any post that seems to question TSTSCG (the shell to sea campaign group)

by cool j Thu Dec 28, 2006 04:28

Your callous attitude to the people who were killed exposes your own ignorance of the issues involved. People were tapping the pipeline due to the fact that despite being an oil rich nation, oil products including petrol are too expensive for the majority of Nigerians,most who live in dire poverty. As i stated above,both shell and corrupt governemnt officials bare a large responsibility for the scenes of devastation witnessed in Lagos by stripping the country of its Natural resources thereby denying ordinary Nigerians a decent standard of living

by Fiery S Thu Dec 28, 2006 03:59

The pipeline was sabotaged. You can stop human stupidity, but not human malice.

by cool j Thu Dec 28, 2006 03:59

Your outrage should be directed at Shell who is association with corrupt politicians have stolen the countries oil weath for the last 30 years and caused living standards to plunge to such an extent that apart form the wealthy elite most people are so desperate can't even afford to buy petrol in Nigeria, leading to the scens of devastation we wintinessed on our TV screens .

by Billy Jones Wed Dec 27, 2006 19:41

What Shell do in Nigeria they will soon do here.
And then say sorry -it was all a big mistake- we did not know that the pipe was not strong enough.

The best way to stop them is to sue the blokes who got the brown envelopes and get them to say for what.

It is illegal under European law to sell the assets of a state for a brown envelope.

Soon

by Loftily self-righteous Wed Dec 27, 2006 19:17

Nice to see you're keeping busy, Shell hacks. Or are you PAD hacks? Hard to tell.

by Lefty Type Wed Dec 27, 2006 19:06

It's a fuel pipeline. it blew up. People died.

In Rossport: there will be a pipeline. transporting fuel. at an unprecedented high pressure. across bogland which is prone to mudslides. in an inhabited area.

What more relevance do you need?

by Outraged Wed Dec 27, 2006 17:14

What possible relevance has this tragic incident to what is being proposed for Rossport?

It is totally outrageous to attempt exploit the deaths of these people to try to make a cheap political point like this! How can you expect to gain the respect and support of the public if your campaign is prepared to resort to such tactics?

You should be utterly ashed!