Women's stand-off with Chevron-Texaco in day four

A stand-off caused by women protesters at a major oil facility of Chevron-Texaco in Nigeria entered the fourth day on Thursday, with the women demanding talks with the head of the company’s operations in the country. Police and army boats patrolled the waters off the Escravos export terminal, but the situation in the facility remained unchanged as the blockade of the air strip, the helicopter pad and the dock continued. Local newspapers said more women had joined the original 150 that on Monday initiated demands for jobs for their children, swelling the number to about 2,000. More than 700 expatriate and Nigerian employees of the Chevron-Texaco were trapped in the facility surrounded by the Atlantic ocean, swamps and creeks. Aircraft have been unable to land and boats cannot dock. Company officials have continued negotiations with the protesters and leaders of their nearby Arutan and Ugborodo communities. "Talks have continued but the situation has not changed from yesterday," Wole Agunbiade, spokesman at the company’s headquarters in Lagos, told reporters. Officials said the security forces were under strict orders not to attack the unarmed women to avoid complicating what already appears a very delicate situation. But the Nigerian government and Chevron-Texaco would be concerned about the likely adverse impact on oil exports if the situation was not resolved quickly. Most of the crude oil produced by Chevron-Texaco in Nigeria is exported from the Escravos terminal. The company’s US $400 million Escravos Gas Plant is also located at the facility. Disruptions of oil operations are common in the Niger Delta oil region, where impoverished local people accuse oil companies and their government partners of neglect despite the huge oil wealth pumped from their land. But this is the first such action taken exclusively by women. "We will no longer take this nonsense, this is the beginning of the trouble they have been looking for," Anunu Uwawah, a leader of the protesters, was quoted as saying by the Punch newspaper. Chevron-Texaco operates a joint venture in which the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation holds the majority stake.