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OO RUEHDE RUEHPA
DE RUEHOS #1183 2551721
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 121721Z SEP 06
FM AMCONSUL LAGOS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 7894
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHHH/OPEC COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA PRIORITY 7815
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0701
RULSDMK/DEPT OF TRANSPORTATION WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH AFB UK PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 001183 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOE FOR GPERSON AND CGAY 
TREASURY FOR ASEVERENS AND SRENENDER 
DOC FOR PHUPER 
STATE PASS TRANSPORTATION FOR MARAD 
STATE PASS USTR FOR ASST USTR SLISER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/12/2016 
TAGS: EPET PGOV ELAB AA
SUBJECT: OIL MAJORS SAY STRIKE UNLIKELY TO IMPACT PRODUCTION 
 
Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL BRIAN L. BROWNE; REASONS 1.4 (D,E) 
 
¶1.  (C)  Summary:  Top executives of oil majors predict the 
strike planned for September 13 will take place.  Chevron and 
Shell believe their in-house unions, although they will honor 
the strike, will do nothing to disrupt production.  Total, 
which has both production and distribution businesses in 
Nigeria, is providing truckloads of oil and gasoline to 
industrial customers and gas stations to minimize disruption 
to the Nigerian economy.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  (C)  Top executives of oil majors operating in Nigeria 
say the strike announced by Nigeria's oil worker unions 
(septel) will take place as planned, beginning midnight 
Tuesday, September 12. 
 
¶3.  (C)  Chevron Nigeria Limited, which produces 
approximately 400,000 barrels per day, expects there will be 
a walkout of some sort by the unions.  Michael Illane, 
General Manager of the Escravos facility, believes unions at 
the company's Escravos facility are not planning to disrupt 
production, and that facilities will continue to run with a 
skeleton crew.  In the area around Chevron's Lagos offices, 
company managers anticipate a general strike and are planning 
how best to manage the situation.  The company plans to 
provide transportation as a way of helping non-striking 
employees get to work during the three days of the planned 
strike.  Illane said the company has been assured by in-house 
union representation that even if employees of Shell or Total 
shut down production at their companies' facilities, Chevron 
employees will not follow suit.  Nonetheless, the General 
Manager is keeping his fingers crossed that the strike does 
not take a more confrontational turn. 
 
¶4.  (C)  Shell's Regional External Affairs Manager, Olav 
Ljosne said the company does not see the strike as directed 
against oil producers, but rather against the government. 
The company is anticipating no reduction of production. 
Nonetheless, because the unions are attempting to demonstrate 
their power, the company will not be certain what will happen 
until the morning of the first day of the strike.  Shell, 
Nigeria's largest producer, produces 600-700,000 barrels per 
day for the U.S. and European markets. 
 
¶5.  (C)  Chevron's General Manager for Government and Public 
Affairs Femi Odumabo told us the government is talking with 
the unions and that he believes that the unions are 
listening.  A meeting will take place on September 13, the 
first day of the strike, which Odumabo speculates may mean 
that a deal can be brokered to end the strike more quickly. 
 
¶6.  (C)  Total, which has both production and distribution 
businesses in Nigeria, is providing additional truckloads of 
oil and gasoline to industrial customers and gas stations 
respectively to minimize the disruption to the Nigerian 
economy. 
 
¶7.  (C) Comment:  With the strike imminent, the majors have 
completed whatever preparations they could make to maintain 
production.  Some steps have been taken to mitigate the 
inconvenience and damage to the economy that a strike may 
cause.  Now it is up to the unions and the government to see 
if they can reach an eleventh hour meeting of the minds that 
will make all of these precautions unnecessary.  However, 
what we have not heard are what concessions the unions are 
willing to accept-- short of their ambitious demand for the 
government to resolve the security problems in the Niger 
Delta -- and what concessions the government may be willing 
to offer to avert a strike. 
BROWNE