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### Viewing cable 09ABUJA2170, CHINESE OIL COMPANIES NOT SO WELCOME IN NIGERIA'S

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09ABUJA2170 | 2009-12-02 11:11 | 2010-12-08 21:09 | CONFIDENTIAL | Embassy Abuja
Appears in these articles: http://www.spiegel.de/

`

    VZCZCXRO5095
    RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
    DE RUEHUJA #2170/01 3361116
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 021116Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7633
    INFO RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0953
    RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0064
    RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0084
    RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2121
    RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0004
    RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0005
    RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0004
    RUEHSA/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0143
    RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 2410
    RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0004
    RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0006
    RUEKJCS/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
    RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
    RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
    RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
    RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE

` `

    <<237579>>
    12.02.2009 11:16
    09ABUJA2170
    Embassy Abuja
    CONFIDENTIAL
    09ABUJA2100
    VZCZCXRO5095
    RR RUEHCN RUEHGH
    DE RUEHUJA #2170/01 3361116
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    R 021116Z DEC 09
    FM AMEMBASSY ABUJA
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7633
    INFO RUEHAR/AMEMBASSY ACCRA 0953
    RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0064
    RUEHLU/AMEMBASSY LUANDA 0084
    RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA 2121
    RUEHCN/AMCONSUL CHENGDU 0004
    RUEHCG/AMCONSUL CHENNAI 0005
    RUEHGZ/AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU 0004
    RUEHSA/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 0143
    RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 2410
    RUEHGH/AMCONSUL SHANGHAI 0004
    RUEHSH/AMCONSUL SHENYANG 0006
    RUEKJCS/DIA WASHINGTON DC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
    RHEBAAA/DEPT OF ENERGY WASHDC
    RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC
    RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
    RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE
    TAGS: ECON EPET ENRG EINV PGOV PREL NI CH
    SUBJECT: CHINESE OIL COMPANIES NOT SO WELCOME IN NIGERIA'S
    REF: ABUJA 2100

    C o n f i d e n t i a l section 01 of 03 abuja 002170

    Sipdis

    State pass to ustr (laurie-ann agama)
    state pass to ustda (paul marin)
    state pass to eximbank (j richter)
    state pass to opic (barbara gibian, steve smith)
    state pass to usaid - afr/sd (curtis, atwood, schlagenhauf)
    state for eeb/isc/iec/enr (david henry)
    state for s/ciea (david goldwyn, michael sullivan)
    state for af/eps (elliot repco)
    state for drl (tu dang)
    usaid for dcha/dg (kimberly ludwig)
    treasury for tony ieronimo, adam barcan
    usdoe for george person, thomas sperl
    doc for 3317/ita/oa/burress and 3130/usfc/oio/anesa/reed
    labor for ilab (sudah haley)
    johannesburg for ustda (jason nagy)

    E.o. 12958: decl: 11/28/2019
    Tags: econ, epet, enrg, einv, pgov, prel, ni, ch
    Subject: chinese oil companies not so welcome in nigeria's
    oil patch

    Ref: abuja 2100

    Classified By: Ambassador Robin R. Sanders for Reasons
    in Sections 1.4 (b) and (d).

    -------
    summary
    -------

    ¶1. (C) Two xxxxxxxxxxxx officials recently
    volunteered that Chinese oil companies had made a lot of
    mistakes in Nigeria and neither official welcomed their
    presence. Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) xxxxxxxxxxxx
    said on xxxxxxxxxxxx the NNPC
    is aware of how the Chinese have behaved in the Sudan and
    Chad and that the Chinese do not know how to deal with a
    democratic government. xxxxxxxxxxxx complained on November 11 that there is no
    recourse when dealing with the Chinese and that the Chinese
    do not respect local laws. The poor image of the Chinese
    helps to explain why they were never a serious threat to the
    renewal of the international oil companies' (IOCs) oil mining
    licenses (OMLs). END SUMMARY.

    -------------------
    ruffled feathers...
    -------------------

    ¶2. (C) Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) xxxxxxxxxxxx
    discussed the Chinese oil companies' recent attempts
    to obtain deep water oil mining leases (OMLs) with Economic
    Counselor and Trade and Investment Specialist on November 13.
    xxxxxxxxxxxx said that Shell Nigeria had opened the door for the
    Chinese by resisting GON efforts to pass the proposed
    Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) and telling the National
    Assembly that the "Nigerian oil industry would be dead" if
    the PIB passed. "So they brought in the Chinese," xxxxxxxxxxxx
    said.

    ¶3. (C) Asked about how the Chinese handled themselves in
    Nigeria, xxxxxxxxxxxx said, "the Chinese are very aggressive
    because they need the oil." "They came in with big money,"
    he said, "and they were ready with large loans with low
    interest rates." But the Chinese also made some mistakes.
    First, xxxxxxxxxxxx said, "We know what had happened in the Sudan
    and Chad and we know enough about them to know where we want
    them and where we don't." At the same time, xxxxxxxxxxxx said, "No
    one really desires to see the IOCs go when we have worked
    with them so long. Long-term friendships develop, a lot is
    learned from them, and we know how they do business."

    ¶4. (C) Second, xxxxxxxxxxxx said, "Their oil companies are run by
    the Chinese government and they do not know how to deal with
    Qthe Chinese government and they do not know how to deal with
    a democratic government. For example, the Chinese told the
    NNPC officials which fields they wanted and the NNPC
    officials had to say, 'No, this field is operated by
    someone.'" The Chinese acted dumbfounded and said, "You mean

    Abuja 00002170 002 of 003

    we can't have it?" "The PIB did not come from nowhere,"
    xxxxxxxxxxxx explained. Much consultation occurred before the GON
    presented the PIB to the National Assembly and all that was
    not going to be undone because of a Chinese official. "The
    Chinese caused the problem," he summarized, "and they ruffled
    a lot of feathers." xxxxxxxxxxxxadded that Gazprom of Russia had
    used a similar approach. "We are lucky we have a democratic
    government" he said, "Under the military, the Chinese and
    Russians would be here."

    ----------------------------
    ...and no forwarding address
    ----------------------------

    ¶5. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx colleagues also told visiting Coordinator for
    International Energy Affairs (S/CIEA) David Goldwyn and his
    delegation on November 11 that he and his union colleagues
    did not want the Chinese in the Nigerian oil sector. Goldwyn
    was asking about the problems faced by xxxxxxxxxxxx said,
    "The Chinese are here and that is a huge
    problem!" "xxxxxxxxxxxx have a list of the worst five countries to work
    for," xxxxxxxxxxxx said, "and they are on that list." xxxxxxxxxxxx explained
    that xxxxxxxxxxxx had experienced a problem with
    ExxonMobil when they "wrongfully fired a worker." xxxxxxxxxxxx
    applied pressure through the U.S. steel workers and the
    worker in question was given a choice of being re-hired or
    compensated and xxxxxxxxxxxx chose the latter. "If xxxxxxxxxxxx a problem
    with a Chinese company," xxxxxxxxxxxx complained, "who can xxxxxxxxxxxx to?"
    (COMMENT: Nigerian xxxxxxxxxxxx have complained to Labor
    Officer that the Chinese do not have industrial relations
    representatives or any formal human resources process other
    than the immediate supervisor who does the hiring and firing.
    Dealing with non-English-speaking Chinese officials also
    hinders constructive interaction. END COMMENT).

    ¶6. (C) xxxxxxxxxxxx later elaborated by alleging that Chinese labor
    practices were not good so no one wants to be part of it.
    "Look at the Chinese mining companies in Zambia," xxxxxxxxxxxx said,
    "the labor unions there had to chase them out." xxxxxxxxxxxx noted
    that corrupt people in China were put to death, but overseas
    they quickly adapt to the local environment, including
    adopting corrupt practices. "The Chinese have no respect for
    local laws," xxxxxxxxxxxx said, "and they compromise a lot of things,
    including safety."

    ¶7. (C) Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
    Q7. (C) Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of
    Nigeria (PENGASSAN) xxxxxxxxxxxx said the Chinese were the first to
    bribe local officials to win contracts and get around local
    laws. By contrast, xxxxxxxxxxxx said xxxxxxxxxxxx played by the
    rules and was above-board. "xxxxxxxxxxxx proud of xxxxxxxxxxxx company in that
    respect," xxxxxxxxxxxx said. (See reftel for additional background on
    Goldwyn's meeting with the xxxxxxxxxxxx).

    -------
    comment
    -------

    Abuja 00002170 003 of 003

    ¶8. (C) The poor image of the Chinese helps to explain why
    they never seriously threatened renewal of the IOCs' oil
    mining licenses (OMLs), the first of which the GON signed
    with ExxonMobil on November 20. Most of the remainder will
    be signed in the coming weeks. Minister of State for
    Petroleum Resources Odein Ajumogobia told the joint
    GON-ExxonMobil press conference on the same day that, "There
    was never any consideration of selling or trading one firm
    for another." But he also said that, "NNPC has a right to
    relinquish any part of its equity to any third party that
    expresses interest and it is in that regard that the
    discussions with the Chinese have been carrying on." The GON
    owns 60 percent of all the joint ventures with the IOCs (55
    percent in the case of Shell). So, the NNPC and the IOCs
    could still end up having minority Chinese partners --
    whether they like it or not.
    ¶9. (U) Embassy coordinated this telegram with ConGen Lagos.
    Sanders

`