Nigeria: Natives protest against the sale of oil fields. "The retreat of the oil companies is a calculated move against the indigenous peoples!"

The native people in Nigeria's Niger Delta announced that they are prepared to occupy the oil fields of the Nigerian Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) in case the company decides to sell an oil field in Delta State as planned. On Tuesday, the indigenous communities of the Olota, Esanma and Gbaregolor wrote a letter to the Governor of Delta state, demanding that Shell must continue to take responsibility for the oil field and the protection of the environment and to sign an according agreement.

The Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) criticizes the retreat of Shell and other oil companies as a "calculated move to maximize profits on the backs of the native peoples". "For the indigenous communities in the Delta, the sale of the oil fields to local businesses would be a major setback, because they will take even less care for the peoples' health and the environment," explained Ulrich Delius, the STP's Africa-consultant, in Göttingen on Wednesday. "Outsourcing the oil-production to local companies will not stop the international oil companies from selling the oil and making profit. However – after the exploitation of the Niger Delta has been going on for decades – Shell, Total, Chevron and Eni should not be able to hide from their responsibility for the catastrophic destruction of the indigenous peoples' natural surroundings."

According to Delius, the sale of the oil fields on the mainland is a cost effective solution for the corporations. They will no longer have to deal with the consequences of the common oil theft from pipelines, the oil-leaks and the protesting residents themselves. By means of the disincorporation of the oil fields on the Nigerian mainland, the companies will not only be able to save money but can also try to avoid further damage to their reputation caused by the constant struggle with the population of the Delta region. In future, the oil companies are planning to focus on operating off-shore oil fields – but it is still uncertain to what extent the companies will be liable for the damages caused by oil production on the mainland.

Shell, Total, Chevron and Eni have already sold oil drilling licenses in the Niger Delta or are planning to do so. At the beginning of October 2013, a consortium of Shell, Total (France) and Eni put up production licenses 18, 24, 25 and 29 for sale. According to reports from the oil industry, Shell has already sold eight drilling permits since 2010 (No. 4, 26, 30, 34, 38, 40, 41 and 42), making more than two billion US-dollars. ConocoPhillips, a US-company that has been operating in the Niger Delta for 46 years, received 1.7 billion US-dollars when selling their boreholes. Shell is planning to sell the especially important Nembe Creek pipeline, which had to be closed in 2012 because of the frequent cases of oil theft. About 100,000 barrels of oil get stolen in the Niger Delta every day.