Minister: Sudan oil state rebels plan "another Benghazi"

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - Sudan's defence minister on Monday accused anti-government fighters of trying to create "a second Benghazi" in the border state of Southern Kordofan and said the military was continuing efforts to "clean" the area.

The Libyan coastal city of Benghazi is the seat of power for rebels trying to oust the country's leader Muammar Gaddafi.

North Sudan's military has been fighting southern-aligned groups in Southern Kordofan -- an oil-rich northern state -- for more than two weeks, raising tensions as the south prepares to secede on July 9.

"Up to this moment, our forces are continuing their efforts and their struggle to clean this area and nip this sedition in the bud," Abdelrahim Mohamed Hussein told members of parliament.

Analysts have seen Southern Kordofan as a flashpoint ahead of the split because it is home to thousands of fighters who sided with the south against the north during a north-south civil war, which claimed about 2 million lives.

As a legacy of that conflict, many of the fighters are heavily-armed and seasoned, analysts say, and are still referred to as part of the south's Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA). The southern military says they are no longer in its army.

Officials with the south's dominant Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) have said fighting started in Southern Kordofan when the north tried to disarm fighters there.

The north's ruling National Congress Party (NCP) has accused the fighters of trying to start a rebellion after the NCP's Ahmed Haroun was named governor of the state last month.

Haroun is wanted by the International Criminal Court over allegations of war crimes in the western Darfur region, which borders Southern Kordofan. Khartoum refuses to recognise the court.

The SPLM said the vote was rigged, which the north denied. Hussein said rebel fighters were now trying to take control of the Southern Kordofan's state capital Kadugli and install Abdelaziz el-Helu, the SPLM candidate in that election, by force.

He accused rebels of making a plan to "occupy Kadugli and other cities, seize Southern Kordofan, declare el-Helu governor of Southern Kordofan and temporary president of the 'New Sudan', and make Kadugli a second Benghazi".

Humanitarian groups fear a mounting death toll in the state, and the United Nations has said an aerial bombardment campaign has caused "huge suffering" for civilians there.

The northern military rejects the charge, saying it is helping civilians, not hurting them.

Southerners voted to secede in a January plebiscite promised in a 2005 peace deal.

© Thomson Reuters 2011 All rights reserved

Sudan to Shut Oil Pipelines Without South’s Payment of Fees, Bashir Says

Sudan will shut export pipelines for oil pumped in Southern Sudan if the landlocked south doesn’t pay usage fees or share proceeds following its independence from the north next month, President Umar al-Bashir said.

Southern Sudan will assume control of about 75 percent of Sudan’s current oil production of 490,000 barrels a day when it is declared independent on July 9. Under the 2005 peace agreement, which ended the two-decade civil war between the north and the south, the two sides share proceeds from oil pumped in the south on a 50-50 basis.

“Either we continue the split, or we take our right from any oil that passes through our land here,” al-Bashir said in a speech given in the northeastern Red Sea state and broadcast live on state-owned Sudan TV. “If you don’t want either of the two options, we will shut the pipeline.”

Delegations from the two sides agreed last month that the south will pay the north fees for the use of pipelines and facilities at Port Sudan on the Red Sea to export the crude, Lual Deng, a member of the south’s ruling Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the oil minister in Sudan’s national unity government, said on June 16.

The two sides are discussing the cost of the fees, which must be “reasonable” or the south would look for other ways to export its oil, Deng said.

Sudan’s crude is pumped mainly by China National Petroleum Corp., Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Bhd and India’s Oil & Natural Gas Corp.

To contact the reporter on this story: Maram Mazen in Khartoum at mmazen@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew J. Barden at barden@bloomberg.net.

Grand Cereals Re-launches Grand Pure Soya Oil in Nigeria

Grand Cereals Limited, makers of Grand Pure Soya Oil and Grand Pure Groundnut Oil, a subsidiary of UAC of Nigeria Plc has unveiled the newly improved and repackaged Grand Pure Soya Oil into the vegetable oil market.

The re-launch event for the newly repackaged Grand Cereal Pure Soya Oil which was held on Thursday June 16, 2011 at the Lagos –Osun Hall of Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Federal Capital Territory Abuja was witnessed by top government functionaries, the corporate Nigeria, the Media and relevant stakeholders.

During his welcome address at the event, the Chairman, Grand Cereals Limited, Mr. Bode Emmanuel remarked that there is no better time for the event than now when Nigeria is still savouring the fruit of our collective democratic will as we successfully and peacefully transited to a new political dispensation.

The Chairman explained that Grand Cereals Limited has always been at the forefront of adding value to the economy of Nigeria by producing world class brands from local grains and oils seeds right from inception.

“The Company has demonstrated this by its array of well known brands in vegetable oil, cereal and animal feed categories. As the largest consumer of grains in Nigeria, we are providing means of livelihood to thousands of farmers all over the country. We are also a major supporter of the Federal Government’s quest for food security” He added.

Also speaking at the re-launch of the product, the Group Managing Director, Mr. Larry Ettah revealed that the re-launch of Grand Pure Soya Oil is another milestone in the annals of the brand.

“The history of Grand Oils has been replete with significant achievements. In 2005, Grand Pure Soya Oil was endorsed by the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) as the only heart friendly oil in Nigeria which is the first time that the kind of endorsement will be given to any brand in Nigeria” He noted.

Mr. Larry Ettah seized the opportunity to call on the Federal Government to support our local industries by initiating and implementing policies that will improve the contribution of the manufacturing sector to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

The Director General of the National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC), Dr. Paul Orhii who was a Special Guest at the ceremony lauded Grand Cereals Limited for adhering to high ethical and health standards in the production of their products.

Dr. Paul Orhii the assured Nigerians that the newly repackaged Grand Pure Soya Oil has been duly certified by the National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control (NAFDAC) as fit and healthy for consumption for all Nigerians.

The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Layi Oyatoki declared that the company care a great deal about the health care of Nigerians which gave birth to the most beautiful vegetable oil and the most EYE friendly oil in Nigeria.

“We acknowledge the fact that whatever success the brand has recorded would not have been possible without the active support and encouragement of our stakeholders which includes the customers, our distributors, the Nigerian Heart Foundation (NHF) and the general Nigerian populace.

Source:

Al-Qaida 'hand in Nigeria suicide bombing'

ABUJA, Nigeria, June 20 (UPI) -- Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamist militants have widened their insurgency with their first vehicle-borne suicide bombing in Abuja, heightening concerns they're being trained by al-Qaida's North African group or al-Shabaab in Somalia.
The apparent target of last Thursday's, Inspector General Hafiz Ringim of the Federal Police, was the highest ranking official the group has sought to assassinate since it launched its campaign of violence in Muslim-dominated northeastern Nigeria four years ago.
Until then, all of its attacks, including the killing of security officials, had been confined to that region, where the extremist group has clashed with rival Christians as well as the federal government.
Thousands of people were killed in periodic bouts of sectarian savagery, with Boko Haram showing none of the relative sophistication seen in their recent operations.
"The staging of this attack demonstrates an increased operational area and also could indicate some form of training from transnational jihadists," the U.S. global security consultancy Stratfor observed.
"The bombing … indicates that Boko Haram has had contact with more experienced militants as it has not displayed this level of capability in any of its previous attacks."
There have been unconfirmed reports that Boko Haram, which means "Western education is sacrilege" in the northern Hausa language, has been seeking ties with al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, the jihadist affiliate in Algeria.
AQIM operates throughout North Africa, from Mauritania and Morocco in the west, across the vast ungoverned spaces of the Sahara Desert to Niger in the east.
Niger is oil-rich Nigeria's northern neighbor and thus forms a land bridge from AQIM's main bases in Algeria and Mali.
Boko Haram leaflets, printed in Hausa and circulated in northern Nigeria recently, warned that the group planned to launch a jihad against the Abuja government.
The leaflets claimed that Nigerian militants had returned from Somalia, far to the southeast in the Horn of Africa on the other side of the continent, where they had undergone military training at camps run by al-Shabaab, a jihadist group ideologically linked to al-Qaida.
That was the first intimation of a direct link between the Nigerian sect and al-Shabaab, which is fighting Somalia's Transitional Federal Government, installed and funded by the United States and the West.
A senior Boko Haram leader, Usman al-Zawahiri, said when claiming responsibility for the June 16 bombing that the Somali-trained militants were preparing to launch attacks.
These claims remain unconfirmed, but Stratfor noted "Zawahiri's claims the Somali jihadist group is attempting to train militants in other arenas to conduct attacks cannot be discounted."
The Boko Haram chief isn't apparently related to al-Qaida's new leader, Ayman al-Zawahiri of Egypt, who took over the terror network following the May 2 assassination of Osama bin Laden by U.S. forces in Pakistan.
If the jihadists are indeed driving to expand their operations into the heart of Africa, it would provide Ayman al-Zawahiri, a veteran of Egypt's war against Islamist radicals throughout much of the 1990s, with an opportunity to burnish his new command.
West Africa has the center of a new oil boom, which transforms the region into a strategic zone for the West and China. Big oil and gas strikes have recently been made in East Africa as well.
The upsurge in violence by Boko Haram over recent months followed Muslim-Christian clashes in the central region between the predominantly Muslim north and the overwhelmingly Christian south.
Nigeria's population of around 115 million is split roughly evenly between the two religions.
The most recent bloodletting has been widely attributed to tension stemming from highly divisive presidential, parliamentary and state elections.
The election of southern leader Goodluck Jonathan as president caused anger in the north. The region has few resources, unlike the south, where Nigeria's oil is located.
Analysts say Muslim political barons have instigated the current bloodshed to pressure Jonathan into meeting demands for patronage or face the destabilization of the entire country.
Jonathan is under pressure to crack down hard on Boko Haram. But, Stratfor says, "While this would lessen the violence in the short term, it will not alter the underlying conditions that led to the violence.
"Thus northern Nigeria can expect a long-term cycle of increased violence followed by harsh crackdowns by Nigerian security forces."

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Oil Spillage - Umuogwa Community Demands N18 Billion

Orlu — Umuogwa-Umuodebi Awara Community in Ohaji/ Egbema LGA of Imo has staged a peaceful demonstration to compel, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) operating in its area to pay the community the sum of N18bn.
The N18bn was for the damage caused by the six year old oil spillage on their land which they insisted has rendered the community known for farming economically useless.
Speaking to journalists, the Community Leader and Spokesman, Mr. Uche Ogbonna attributed the cause of the oil spillage which took place in 2004 to corrosion of pipes and equipment noting that since the year mentioned above, that the company has never made any attempt to compensate the community .

He stressed that when it happened, they reported the incident to the company, but they kept deaf ears to it adding that every other effort made by their reports to Imo State Environmental Protection Agency (ISEPA) and other agencies on the matter have not yielded any dividend.
He contended that for the period of six years that hunger has ravaged the community as the spillage has made their land arid.
He also stated that four out of the men who were detailed to go to the site and cost the level of damage got drowned.
He told newsmen that all efforts to settle with Shell BP have failed because the company was not not ready for negotiation with the community.

Nigeria to Increase Qua Iboe, Bonga Oil Shipments in August

Nigeria, a favored supplier of oil to U.S. refiners, plans to ship 12 cargoes of benchmark Qua Iboe crude in August, one more than July, according to a loading schedule obtained by Bloomberg News.
Africa’s largest oil producer will also export nine cargoes of Bonny Light crude, including one of 300,000 barrels, the plan showed. This compares with the original shipping plan for July of six 950,000-barrel cargoes and one 650,000-barrel lot.
The July schedule is subject to change after Royal Dutch Shell Plc declared force majeure on Bonny Light exports for June and July due to fires on the Trans Niger pipeline. Shell informed its customers June 13 that the loading program will be revised. Force majeure is a legal clause allowing companies to miss deliveries because of circumstances beyond their control.
Nigeria will also ship eight cargoes of Forcados crude, six Bonga, five Erha, four Brass River, three EA, two Okwori, one Okono and one Antan in August, according to the plan. Cargo sizes range from 450,000 barrels to 1 million barrels.
Loading programs are monthly schedules of crude shipments compiled by field operators to allow buyers and sellers to plan their supply and trading activities.
Schedules of Abo, Agbami, Akpo, Amenam, Escravos, Oso, Pennnington, and Yoho grades will be released in coming days.


To contact the reporter on this story: Sherry Su in London at lsu23@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss at sev@bloomberg.net

Oil find cannot change economic status of Ghana over night

Koforidua, June 20, GNA - The Communication Director of Tullow Oil Company, Mr Gayheart Edem Mensah has observed that, Ghana earns more than it’s 13 per cent share from the oil find off the shores of the Western Region.

    

He said Ghana also earn a 35 per cent corporate tax on every load of oil sold in addition to a royalty of five per cent.

    

Mr Mensah explained that though the oil revenue could increase the earnings of the country, the amount was not sufficient to turn the country into a prosperous nation over night and there was therefore the need to manage the expectation of the people from the oil find.

    

Mr Mensah was speaking in Koforidua during a media interaction with officials of Tullow Oil, one of the major partners engaged in the off shore mining of oil in Western Region.

    

He said the current expectation that Ghana’s daily oil processing would hit its highest target of 120,000 barrels a day was not close to some neighbouring countries were production was two million barrels a day.

    

Mr Mensah said the oil business was a high risk area and so it has high standards which are not compromised and required that local Ghanaian companies that want to be engaged in the oil industry from the supply of vegetables to engineering would have to meet those standards.

    

He said companies which want to do business with the oil mining companies would first have to register with the Ghana National Petroleum Company.

    

He said the oil mining companies had established a system to contain any environmental challenges in case of oil spillage.

    

Mr Ken Nunoo also of Tullow Oil urged media personnel to be abreast of oil mining production so that they could effectively educate and inform the public about these activities.

GNA