
The Day the Pirates Came - jbegley
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-52295222
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thinkingkong
Super interesting and well written story. The question I'm left with is more
around the illegal oil trade. Who buys that oil, how do negotiations work,
pricing established, etc.

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fit2rule
It is principally a profit region of Royal Dutch Shell, of course, through a
conglomeration of subsidiaries and shell companies (NNPC, TEPNG, and NAOC)
designed to prevent the world from knowing the truth about the wealth being
extracted from the Nigerian people.

The Dutch oligarchs, as well as their Royal family, are the ultimate
beneficiaries of the turmoil in that region. They finance MEND, who showed up
in 2006, 7 years after Royal Dutch was kicked out. TEXACO, Howard Energy - all
the standard Western blood oil players are waiting in line for their share.
(Blood oil is a Western game. The oil won't be nationalised, those who rule
Africa from afar will never allow this to happen.)

There are also, of course, second-level groups perpetuating the violence to
reap profits:

"While Niger Delta youth may handle the local tapping and loading,
international players from Eastern Europe, Russia, Australia, Lebanon, the
Netherlands, and France all play roles in financing, transporting, and
laundering the money associated with blood oil. One money trail followed a
path from Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire through French banks and French credit
agencies to Syria and Lebanon. It also now appears that Nigerian Lebanese
(those of Lebanese descent, born or naturalized in Nigeria) are heavily
involved in the business, especially those with good political connections.
Similarly, many top Nigerian politicians and military officers, both serving
and retired, are said by internal sources, such as the army chief of staff, to
be actively involved in the large-scale bunkering business."

[https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/blood_oil_nigerdelt...](https://www.usip.org/sites/default/files/blood_oil_nigerdelta.pdf)

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Eyght
Sometimes it feels like a blessing to live in a country without natural
resources worth killing for.

~~~
eternauta3k
You don't even need to have natural resources.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_r...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_involvement_in_regime_change_in_Latin_America)

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chance_state
4.5 long hours for the "but America" comment to appear. Rookie numbers.

