European Union gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace' - Militants have been demanding a greater share of the oil wealth

From BBC News online, November 23, 2009:
European Union gives Nigeria $1bn 'for peace'

The European Commission has signed a $1bn (£602m) development pact with Nigeria, aimed at tackling corruption and promoting peace.

A substantial amount of the funding will be spent on resolving conflict in the oil-rich and crime-plagued Niger Delta, the EU's development chief said.

The money will also target electoral reform and improving human rights.

But correspondents say many Nigerians will doubt the money will get to its intended targets.

The BBC's Caroline Duffield, in Lagos, says corruption touches the lives of everyone in Nigeria and leaves the vast majority of people in poverty.

And she says many Nigerians believe the current government is losing the fight against corruption.

Almost a third of the EU money is devoted to the Niger Delta region.

For years militants have blown up pipelines and kidnapped foreign oil workers, demanding a fairer share of the wealth.

"I'm delighted that a substantial amount of this financing will go to support conflict resolution and the peace process in the Niger Delta which has been ravaged by years of unrest," said the EU's development commissioner Karel De Gucht.

Over the past few months, thousands of militants have given up their weapons in an amnesty deal offered by the government in return for the promise of education and jobs.

A three-month respite from the violence has brought back some oil and gas production, but sceptics fear the former fighters could resume violence if they do not quickly find work.

Major oil pipeline in Nigeria ruptured

A major oil pipeline ferrying crude oil to two of the country’s four refineries has been ruptured, amid fears that militants may have been responsible for the action.

The private Punch newspaper reported Thursday that the Chanomi Creek pipeline, which transports crude oil from Nigeria’s main oil city of port Harcourt to two refineries in Warri and the northern city of Kaduna, was ruptured in "unclear circumstances" (overnight Wednesday) in Delta state in the country’s oil producing Niger Delta region.

The development may lead to the shutdown of the refineries, which only resumed production in February 2008, two years after they were forced to shut down because militants blew up the same pipeline.

The Warri refinery has a capacity of 125,000 barrels per day while the Kaduna refinery has an installed capacity of 110,000bpd.

Though no group has claimed responsibility for the rupture of the pipeline, militants threatened in July to blow up, within 30 days, the Chanomi Creek pipeline and other pipelines close to it to demonstrate the seriousness of agitations for greater control of oil resources in the Niger Delta.

Source: en.afrik.com report Friday 03 October 2008 - Major oil pipeline in Nigeria ruptured in ’unclear circumstances’