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Cross posted from the PLATFORM blog, here is a new report exposing how British oil companies are making huge profits from oil in the Congo. PLATFORM reveals Congo oil contracts that threaten resource wars and $10 billion rip-off Tullow & British Embassy push disputed deal that could cut Congo’s revenues by $10 billion Confidential oil…

Viewers of the BBC2 action drama on the Niger Delta, ‘Blood and Oil’  may be shocked to discover that this murky thriller of hostages, soldiers, oil and conflict, has its roots in real events in the Delta. In particular, one of the darker chapters of former President Obasanjo’s repressive rule that went largely unreported… In…

Shell is pushing for a more active role in Ghana’s vast new oil fields, which may hold over 500 million barrels of oil. With a legacy of turmoil in Nigeria crippling its supply, Shell was desperate to impress at an industry summit this week before Ghana’s Vice President Mahama and the Director of Ghana National…

Gas currently being flared in Nigeria’s oil fields is polluting the Niger Delta with a ‘huge quantity’ of toxins which are a major cause of acid rain, claims an international professor. The finding could overturn years of skepticism from oil companies and government officials, who regularly downplay the impact of  flaring on communities. As the…

Oil contracts signed secretly in Uganda and exposed by PLATFORM will allow major oil companies to flare gas with impunity in the country’s Lake Alberta region on the border with Congo. As the New York Times reports: “Production is going to start in 2010 with no environmental assessment having yet been carried out,” said Platform’s…

As one of five C Words Co-Realizers one of my jobs is to reflect on the events which take place in the gallery. Yet, within the walls of Arnolfini I find it hard to find intellectual space or critical distance from the work. Fortunately, I shan’t be based in Bristol for the whole of our two month run of events. Each…

We’re into the second half of the run now, and on a day to day basis everything is running pretty well. There have been some really great moments recently: * the Institute’s barge moored outside Arnolfini, completely wrapped in their 30m red banner, emblazoned “The concept of culture is deeply reactionary” and “With our £2000…

‘Shaping the Future’: a PLATFORM residency programme of art, activism and education launched with a fiery spectacle at 5pm on Tuesday 10th November at the Stephen Lawrence Centre in Lewisham, London. ‘Shaping the Future’ is led by the arts and ecology group PLATFORM, and speakers at the launch included the Mayor of Greenwich, Doreen Lawrence,…