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Nigeria's High Court Determines Gas Flaring Illegal
Nigeria's High Court ruled last week that gas flaring is illegal. The move might ensure compliance but force Nigeria to shut down all oil production, which could increase political tensions in the country's volatile Niger Delta. Nigeria loses approximately $25 billion worth of annual revenue to gas flaring, while the country's Niger Delta records an estimated 49,000 premature births annually, Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria, said. Human rights advocates said gas flaring damages agriculture and harms people's health in the area. In addition to activists and the indigent, Nigeria's influential middle class also applauded the ruling. "For the first time, a court of competence has boldly declared that Shell, Chevron Texaco and the other oil corporations have been engaged in illegal activities here for decades," said Bassey. The court ruled all flaring must cease on the grounds that it violates the human rights of those living near the gas emissions. Industry experts estimate Nigeria flared 19 billion cubic meters of gas in 2003, second only to Russia. Although Shell reduced its flaring in late 2004, the British-Dutch venture said it cannot phase it out by the 2008 deadline, partly due to funding shortfalls for gas gathering projects from the government. All rights reserved. � 2005 United Press International. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by United Press International.. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of United Press International. Related Links TerraDaily Search TerraDaily Subscribe To TerraDaily Express 
Analysis: Putin As Energy Czar
Moscow (UPI) Nov 18, 2005Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent visits to Germany, Turkey, and today South Korea where he is attending the APEC forum, all have one over-riding theme: promoting the exports of state-owned and Kremlin-friendly energy companies.
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