Environmentalists Protest African Oil Pipeline
9/27/99
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Title: Environmentalists protest African oil pipeline
Source: Reuters
Status: Copyright 1999, contact source for permission to reprint
Date: September 27, 1999
WASHINGTON, Sept 27 (Reuters) - Environmentalists on Monday protested
World Bank funding for a controversial African pipeline that would
transport crude oil from landlocked Chad to a port on the Cameroon
coast.
The 650-mile pipeline, which is expected to cost $3.5 billion, would
be built by a consortium of international oil companies, led by Exxon
Corp. (NYSE:XON - news) and including Royal Dutch/Shell Group and the
French company ELF Aquitaine (NYSE:ELF - news).
The World Bank is expected to decide by November whether to provide
$190 million in loans to help pay for the project.
Citing environmental and human rights concerns, the Environmental
Defense Fund asked for a moratorium on World Bank funding for the
pipeline until problems with the project can be resolved.
The group claims the revenues raised from the pipeline would stay
with the Chad government and not go to programs intended to help
local citizens.
In addition, the group said the pipeline will cross a tropical rain
forest and most of Cameroon's major river systems, which would be
devastated from an oil spill.
While the group held a press briefing to outline their objections to
the pipeline an activist from the Rainforest Action Network climbed
the World Bank Building across town to protest the project.
From the seventh floor, the protester unrolled a banner with a huge
photograph of World Bank president James Wolfensohn over the message:
``Tax dollars and corruption buy murder and destruction. Stop the
African oil pipeline.''
The World Bank claims there are no other development options besides
the pipeline that would allow Chad and Cameroon to quickly increase
their government revenues.
A spokesman for Exxon said environmental studies have shown the
project would be good for both countries, providing money for
education, health and infrastructure projects.
He said the company expects the World Bank to approve the loans for
the pipeline.
If everything goes as planned, crude oil from 300 wells in southern
Chad will begin flowing through the pipeline around 2004, the
spokesman said.