endeavor

The Hostage Takeover of America’s Oil Industry

Kidnapped On the Job

endeavorM A G A Z I N E 2 0 1 1

steve jobs - HOW HE REINVENTED THE WORLDpg 7pg 9

the risk premiumby Paula Pfieffer

Russell Spell thought he knew what he was getting into when he signed on with a Houston company to build a pipeline in Nigeria, but he never imagined he would become a hostage - literally - to America’s dependence on foreign oil.

contents // features

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1 ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

from rags to richesby Jason Rawlings

17THE AMAZING STORY OF HOW ONE YOUNG BOY TURNED HIS LIFE AROUND TO BECOME ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFULL BUSINESSMAN IN THE WORLD TODAY. HIS JOURNEY THROUGH POVERTY TO PROSPERITY.

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H O M E E C O N O M I C S

F U L L Y I N V E S T E D

T H E B I G D A W G S

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paying yourself first

steve jobs

taking care of business

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THE ENDEAVORMEETING THE END GOAL

The important thing is to identify your variables for competing and fairly analyze them against the risk-free alternative of a sale.

S U C C E S S S T O R I E S

bigtime owners tell it all

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contents // departments

2ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

by dave smith

by pete harrison

by katelin gali

by rob davis

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home economics

running your business from homeolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, conse-quat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur sit amet erat sed. Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis nunc. Maecenas molestie elementum facilisis. Quisque vel elit odio, nec porttitor erat. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit amet eu metus. Aliquam nisl orci, mollis sit amet accumsan eu, auctor sed augue. Proin pellentesque elit eu diam convallis ac auctor diam blandit. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam et nibh sed mauris sagittis consequat. Maecenas nisi dolor, tempus non rutrum vitae, convallis quis ante. Mauris vitae felis.Suspendisse faucibus, metus ut dapibus accumsan, odio tel-lus fermentum sem, sit amet bibendum tortor lacus eu orci. Nunc commodo iaculis magna. Maecenas a dolor vitae diam

vulputate rhoncus ac a lectus. Cras molestie tristique con-sequat. Suspendisse commodo posuere eros, a varius turpis venenatis vitae. Etiam a ante massa. Cras posuere bibendum tempor. Donec consectetur, nisl ac bibendum lobortis, dolor nulla feugiat felis, nec blandit sapien odio porta justo. Donec rutrum velit non libero dictum volutpat. Duis eu eleifend sem. Maecenas quis odio sit amet massa fermentum vestibu-lum. Donec vitae urna sed odio condimentum luctus sed quis nunc. Pellentesque ante leo, tincidunt id varius eget, porttitor non nulla. Nulla facilisi. Cras varius nisi ut nunc pellentesque ullamcorper. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Vestibulum placerat elit et sapien facilisis egestas. Fusce cursus, massa vehicula ornare posuere, enim risus fringilla tellus, in sagittis dui ante ut arcu. Mauris vel lectus velit, ut scelerisque purus. Maecenas orci ligula, fermentum a eleif-end bibendum, ultrices non enim. Duis sed quam risus, id lobortis sapien. Integer quis malesuada neque. Pellentesque eu nulla id enim sagittis porttitor. Integer magna mauris, scelerisque sit amet imperdiet non, dignissim eget orci. Quisque at ipsum sed turpis ultricies vulputat.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS

3 ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

MANAGING THE FINANCES - euismod tincidunt. Proin sollicitudin, felis eget viverra rutrum, neque ante dapibus magna, vel porta ligula massa non ligula. Sed in leo quis justo ornare pharetra. Donec tempus hendrerit lorem, non pellen-tesque risus varius nec. Aenean luctus tincidunt viverra. Ali-quam erat volutpat. Etiam vitae diam in elit bibendum porta. Nulla porta massa sit amet eros elementum vestibulum. In commodo faucibus justo, sed aliquam orci placerat in. Etiam nec mi mauris, id ornare tellus. Aenean mollis metus sit amet felis ornare mattis. Aenean et lobortis ipsum. Suspendisse quis libero metus. Ali-quam sagittis, libero id suscipit commodo, arcu augue pellentesque urna, id ullam-corper lorem elit et odio. Suspendisse feugiat augue eu odio iaculis nec euismod augue vulputate. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mat-tis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcor-per dui, sed sit amet eros elementum vestibulum.

MAKING A PROFIT - met Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quinunc. Maecenas molestie elementum facilisis. Quisque vel elit odio, nec porttitor erat. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit amet eu metus. Aliquam nisl orci, mollis sit amet accumsan eu, auctor sed augue. Proin pellentesque elit eu diam convallis ac auctor diam blandit. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam et nibh sed mauris sagittis consequat. Maecenas nisi dolor, tempus non rutrum vitae, convallis quis ante. Mauris vitae felis. Suspendisse faucibus, metus ut dapibus accumsan, odio tellus fermentum sem, sit amet bibendum tortor lacus eu orci. Nunc commodo iaculis magna. Maecenas a dolor vitae diam vulputate rhon-cus ac a lectus. Cras molestie tristique consequat. Suspend-isse commodo posuere eros, a varius turpis venenatis vitae. Etiam a ante massa. Cras posuere bibendum tempor. Donec consectetur, nisl ac bibendum lobortis, dolor nulla feugiat felis, nec blandit sapie.

ACQUIRING RECOGNITION - consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur sit amet erat sed metus imperdiet accumsan. Cras molestie tristique conse-quat. Suspendisse commodo posuere eros, a varius turpis venenatis vitae. Etiam a ante massa. Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis nunc. Maecenas molestie elementum facilisis. Quisque vel elit odio, nec porttitor erat. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit veve

There are almost 21.5 million (90%) small businesses in the United States

Small businesses are responsible for 39 percent of GNP.

Small businesses contribute 44 percent of all sales in the country.Small businesses employ 54.4 million people, about 57.3 per-cent of the private workforce.

quick facts

EXPERIMENTAL MARKETING - vulputate rhoncus ac a lec-tus. Cras molestie tristique consequat. Suspendisse commo-do posuere eros, a varius turpis venenatis vitae. Etiam a ante massa. Cras posuere bibendum tempor. Donec consectetur, nisl ac bibendum lobortis, dolor nulla feugiat felis, nec blan-dit sapien odio porta justo. Donec rutrum velit non libero dictum volutpat. Duis eu eleifend sem. Maecenas quis odio sit amet massa fermentum vestibulum. Donec vitae urna sed odio condimentum luctus sed quis nunc. Pellentesque ante leo, tincidunt id varius eget, porttitor non nulla. Nulla faci-

lisi. Cras varius nisi ut nunc pellentesque ullamcorper. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Vestibulum placerat elit et sapien facilisis egestas. Fusce cursus, massa vehicula ornare posuere, enim risus fringilla tellus, in sagittis dui ante ut arcu. Mauris vel lectus velit, ut scelerisque purus. Maecenas orci ligula, fermentum a eleifend bibendum, ultrices non enim. Duis sed quam risus, id lobortis sapien. Integer quis malesuada neque. Pellentesque eu nulla id enim sagittis porttitor. Integer magna mauris, scelerisque sit amet imperdiet non, dignissim eget orci. Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non.

“ The key to success in business from the home is to research successful figures who are will-ing to share their story and to follow their approach. Emulating these examples is crucial.”

A

fully invested

understanding the mysterious world of investingPLANNING FOR RETIREMENT - sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volut-pat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur lacerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis nunc. Maecenas molestie elementum facilisis. Quisque vel elit odio, nec porttitor erat. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit amet eu metus. Aliquam nisl orci, mollis sit amet accumsan eu, auctor sed augue. Proin pellentesque elit eu diam convallis ac auctor diam

blandit. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam et nibh sed mauris sagittis consequat. Maecenas nisi dolor, tempus non rutrum vitae, convallis quis ante. Mauris vitae.

REAL ESTATE - Suspendisse faucibus, metus ut dapibus accumsan, odio tellus fermentum sem, sit amet bibendum tortor lacus eu orci. Nunc commodo iaculis magna. Maecenas a dolor vitae diam vulputate rhoncus ac a lectus. Cras molestie tristique consequat. Suspendisse commodo posuere eros, a varius turpis venenatis vitae. Etiam a ante massa. Cras posuere bibendum tem-por. Donec consectetur, nisl ac bibendum lobortis, dolor nulla feugiat felis, nec blandit sapien odio porta justo. Donec rutrum velit non libero dictum volutpat. Duis eu eleifend sem. Maecenas quis odio sit amet massa fermentum vestibulum. Donec vitae urna sed odio condimentum luctus sed quis nunc. Pellentesque ante leo, tincidunt id varius eget, porttitor non nulla. Nulla facilisi. Cras varius nisi ut nunc pellentesque ullamcor-per. Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Vestibulum placerat elit et sapien facilisis egestas. Fusce cursus, massa vehicula ornare posuere, enim risus fringilla tellus, in sagittis dui ante ut arcu. Mauris vel lectus velit, ut scelerisque purus. Maecenas orci ligula, fermentum a eleifend bibendum, ultrices non enim. Duis sed quam risus, id lobortis sapien. Integer quis malesuada neque. Pellentesque eu nulla id enim sagittis porttitor. Integer magna mauris, sceleris-

enean in leo quis justo ornare pharetra. Donec tempus hendrerit lorem, non pellentesque risus varius nec. Aenean luctus tincidunt viverra. Aliquam erat volutpat. Etiam vitae diam in elit bibendum porta. Nulla porta massa sit amet eros elementum vestibulum. In commodo faucibus justo, sed aliquam orci placerat in. Etiam nec mi mauris, id ornare tel-lus. Aenean mollis metus sit amet felis ornare mattis. Aenean et lobortis ipsum. Suspendisse quis libero metus. Aliquam sagittis, libero id suscipit commodo, arcu augue pellentesque urna, id ullamcorper lorem elit et odio. Suspendisse feu-giat augue. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur.Suspendisse faucibus, metus ut dapibus accumsan, olus.

PAYING YOURSELF FIRST

BANKING INVESTMENTS - adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur sit amet erat sed. Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis nunc. Maecenas molestie elementum facilisis. Quisque vel elit odio, nec porttitor erat. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit amet eu metus. Aliquam nisl orci, mollis sit amet accumsan eu, auctor sed augue. Proin pellentesque elit eu diam convallis ac auctor diam blandit. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam et nibh sed mauris sagittis consequat. Maecenas nisi dolor, tempus non rutrum vitae, convallis quis ante. Mauris vitae felis. Quisque eget ante a sapien euismod tincidunt. Proin sollicitudin, felis eget viverra rutrum, neque ante dapibus magna, vel porta ligula massa non ligula. Sed in leo quis justo ornare pharetra. Do-nec tempus hendrerit lorem, non pellentesque risus varius nec. Aenean luctus tincidunt viverra. Aliquam erat volutpat. Etiam vitae diam in elit bibendum porta.

INVESTING IN STOCKS - eros elementum vestibulum. In commodo faucibus justo, sed aliquam orci placerat in. Etiam nec mi mauris, id ornare tellus. Aenean mollis metus sit amet felis ornare mattis. Aenean et lobortis ipsum. Suspendisse quis libero metus. Aliquam sagittis, libero id suscipit com-modo, arcu augue pellentesque urna, id ullamcorper lorem elit et odio. Suspendisse feugiat augue eu odio iaculis nec euismod au. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipi-scing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tel-lus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat plac-erat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur sit amet erat sed met. Fusce cursus, massa vehicula ornare posuere, enim risus fringilla.

TAKING RISKS - consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur lacerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis nunc. Maecenas mo-lestie elementum facilisis. Quisque vel elit odio, nec porttitor erat. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit amet eu metus. Aliquam nisl orci, mollis sit amet accumsan eu, auctor sed augue. Proin pellentesque elit eu diam conval-lis ac auctor diam blandit. Suspendisse potenti. Etiam et nibh sed mauris sagittis consequat. Maecenas nisi dolor, tempus non rutrum vitae, convallis quis ante. Mauris vitae. Maece-nas nisi dolor, tempus non rutrum vitae, convallis. Duis sed quam risus, id lobortis sapien. Integer quis malesuada neque. Pellentesque eu nulla id enim sagittis.

“ Investing in stocks has been one of the best ways to build wealth historically, but you have to be prepared for fluctuations of 50% or more in any given year. This guide to investing in stocks can help provide a basic education.”

KELLY WALKER CEO , CAPITOL

testimonials

6ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

the big dawgs

7 ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

STEVE JOBShow he reinvented the world

Nulla dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros. Nullam mollis volutpat placerat. Cras sit amet vehicula nibh. Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur sit amet erat sed. Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis nunc. Maecenas molestie elementum facilisis. Fusce ullamcorper nunc eu eros aliquam consectetur. Donec interdum mauris mattis odio convallis tincidunt sit Duis tortor arcu, varius ac pulvinar ac, sagittis eget justo. Fusce dignissim, eros at cursus faucibus, lectus est ullamcorper dui, sed porttitor sapien odio ut nisi. Curabitur sit amet erat sed. Sed diam nisl, placerat nec vestibulum non, egestas quis tis odio convallis tincidunt sit vestibulum. In commodo fauci-bus justo, sed aliquam orci placerat in. Etiam nec mi mauris, id ornare tellus. Aenean mollis metus sit amet felis ornar.

uisque eget ante a sapien euismod tincidunt. Proin sollici-tudin, felis eget viverra rutrum, neque ante dapibus magna, vel porta ligula massa non ligula. Sed in leo quis justo ornare pharetra. Donec tempus hendrerit lorem, non pellentesque risus varius nec. Aenean luctus tincidunt viverra. Aliquam erat volutpat. Etiam vitae diam in elit bibendum porta. Nulla porta massa sit amet eros elementum vestibulum. In commo-do faucibus justo, sed aliquam orci placerat in. Etiam nec mi mauris, id ornare tellus. Aenean mollis metus sit amet felis ornare mattis. Aenean et lobortis ipsum. Suspendisse quis libero metus. Aliquam sagittis, libero id suscipit commodo, arcu augue pellentesque urna, id ullamcorper lorem elit et odio. Suspendisse feugiat augue. Aenean luctus tincidunt viverra. Aliquam erat volutpat. Etiam vitae diam in elit bibendum porta. Nulla porta massa sit amet eros elementum vestibulum. In commodo faucibus justo, sed aliquam orci placerat in. Etiam nec mi mauris, id ornare tellus. Aenean mollis metus sit amet felis ornare mattis. Aenean ullamcorper lorem elit et odio. Suspendisse feugiat augue>

8ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

Russell Spell thought he knew what he was getting into when he signed on with a Hous-ton company to build a pipeline in Nigeria, but he never imagined he would become a hostage - literally - to America’s dependence on foreign oil.

by Paula Pfieffer

9 ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

Russell Spell thought he knew what he was getting into when he signed on with a Hous-ton company to build a pipeline in Nigeria, but he never imagined he would become a hostage - literally - to America’s dependence on foreign oil.

10ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

ARLY IN THE MORNING of February 18, 2006, Russell Spell was sleeping on a barge off the Nigerian coast when he awoke to the sound of gunfire. A longtime employee of Willbros Group, an international oil and gas contractor, Spell super-vised workers laying an offshore pipeline for Shell. His shift was noon to midnight, so he was still in his bunk when he heard the sound of bullets exploding into metal, a commo-tion so loud it seemed as if a helicopter was landing inside his cabin. The day had dawned placid and sweet, the barge an offshore oasis from the fetid air and roiling gas flares visible on the coast at Shell’s Forcados export terminal. Spell had no idea he was about to become a pawn in the increasingly violent war for control of the world’s diminishing petroleum resources. Spell, then 41, was pale and impish, a small, shy man with a wry sense of humor who still had the broad shoulders and bowed arms of the welder he had been for much of his adult life. Born and raised in the East Texas oil field town of Silsbee, he didn’t want for much and generally took what came his way with equanimity. By 2006, he had worked in Nigeria for almost a decade. He knew the country posed its share of dangers to foreign workers, but he left the worry about kidnappings, robberies, and killings to his company and to his wife, Regina. Spell did not, for instance, pay much mind to State Department travel advisories, like the one that, just a day before the attack on his barge, warned American citizens to stay away. “The lack of law and order in Nigeria poses considerable risks to travelers,” it said. “Vio-lent crime committed by ordinary criminals, as well as by persons in police and military uniforms, can occur through-out the country.” Spell knew the people of the Niger Delta were desperately poor, while corrupt officials lived like Saudi princes. He knew the air and water were poisoned because multinational oil companies had exploited the region’s rich reserves for many years without a care. He understood that certain palms were generously greased for what he called “community relations.” But he had never had any trouble personally. He liked the Nigerian people and loved the rou-tine and camaraderie of being offshore with longtime friends. And working in Nigeria was steady; you weren’t shut down for weather, like in the Gulf of Mexico.

SPELL WAS SCHEDULED for three months on and one month off and made good money—$80,000 a year. It was enough to buy his family a brick house on a cul-de-sac within walking distance of Lake Conroe. His front door had a leaded-glass window that sparkled with rainbows in the afternoon sun; his living room featured a big-screen TV. Spell had never finished college, but his kids were in gifted-and-talented programs at good schools. His wife didn’t have to work. He never asked himself whether the job was worth the risk because the answer seemed self-evident. Now, as the gunfire drew closer, Spell jumped out of his berth and ran to the door of his tiny cabin to look outside. He saw a motorboat full of men shooting as they approached the port side of the barge; shots came from starboard as well. Spell thought about running, but there wasn’t any place to run to. The attackers were swarming aboard, shooting all the while. “Get into cover!” It was John Hudspith, the Brit who was the security coordinator on the barge. He was racing toward the bridge, trying to organize an armed response. Footsteps pounded on the deck below, and someone—not someone from Willbros—screamed orders. Spell could hear the continuous rat-a-tat-tat of automatic weapons. Look-

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11 ENDEAVOR MAGAZINE

ing down the walkway, he saw powerfully built men dressed in camouflage vests, ammunition belts draped around their necks and shoulders. Black stocking masks covered their faces. They were coming toward him, firing into doors that wouldn’t give way to swift kicks. Spell backed into the cabin, slam-ming the wooden door behind him. He and his roommate, a baby-faced 23-year-old from Mississippi named Cody Oswalt, locked the door and hoped for the best. “What do we do?” Oswalt cried. “Man, I don’t know,” Spell told him dryly. “But I hope we win.” They held their breath, pinned to the wall, while the men stormed past. Where were the security guards Willbros kept on the payroll? Spell wondered. Suppos-edly, Willbros had three security boats and Shell had two—both armed with .50-caliber machine guns. What happened to them? Why hadn’t anyone sounded an alarm? WB 318 was Willbros’ largest and most profitable barge. Both Willbros and Shell paid handsomely for protection against surprises like this. Suddenly the attackers came back. Spell heard them drag-ging one of his co-workers as they approached, beating him and demanding the whereabouts of the Americans. At Spell’s door, they stopped. “Open up! Open up!” They pounded on

the door and kicked at it with their boots. Finally, someone fired an automatic weapon at the door handle, and four or five men pushed inside.They kicked spell in the ribs and stomped on his stomach, cursing him and screaming for him to get up and out of his cabin. Oswalt got the same treat-ment. In the melee, someone knocked Spell’s glasses off his face, and he didn’t have time to recover them before his attackers hoisted him up and shoved him down the walk-way, toward the deck and some waiting boats. When Spell hesitated on a stairway, someone hit him in the back of the

head with the butt of a rifle, and he tumbled down the rest of the way. Another attacker crowed that they had the Ameri-cans. They were loading barge workers into boats—nine men in all. Spell was shoved in with three other men, a knife at his back. One of the captors pushed him to the floor. “We are going to barbecue you,” one of the men taunted. Finally, Shell’s Nigerian military protectors appeared in a boat with a crew firing shots that widely missed their targets. The captors began to fire back, and for five or so minutes, Spell felt the concussion of the bullets pounding his ears as they whizzed

“ Finally, as the shadows grew long and darkness fell, the soldiers loaded their captives back on the boats and pushed even deeper into the jungle, navigating by moonlight. ”

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by. Glancing around, he spied a crate of ammo and found himself grateful that the kidnappers’ speedboats were easily outrunning the security forces. They traveled from the open sea into the Forcados River, which was glazed with patches of oil. They traveled from the open sea into the Forcados River, which was glazed with patches of oil. The river nar-rowed; the speedboat motor dropped to a purr. The boatmen went left, then right, then north, then south, following the thinning tributaries that spread like tiny branches below the jungle canopy. The captors removed their masks and showed Spell the charms that they believed kept bullets from pen-etrating their bodies. The men were Ijaws, members of Ni-geria’s fourth-largest ethnic group, who are known for their

fishing prowess and maintain an almost mystical mastery of these waters and the mangrove swamps surrounding them.After about an hour and a half, Spell caught sight of red cloths tied to some mangrove trees. His captors jumped out and pushed the boat toward a tiny compound, splash-ing themselves with water. Spell started wading toward shore. One of the men pointed his automatic weapon and called him back. Anointing Spell with water, he explained: The Ijaws took their power from the water; Spell needed purification before he could be among them. The old world vanished, and the new one close in heavy, warm air; putrid water; leafy mangrove trees sinking their long, witchy fingers into the shore; angry masked men and their guns. Russell Spell had no idea where he was; all he knew was that he could, quite possibly, be lost for the rest of his days. Spell and his fellow hostages would easily recognize the men who appear in a YouTube video titled “The Countdown.” Dated January 2008, nearly two years after their capture, it is a re-

cruiting tool, a slide show set to a rousing Nigerian pop beat and displaying a number of photos of buff, heavily armed men in T-shirts and camouflage gear pointing menacing fin-gers at the camera and riding in speedboats as they proudly brandish their automatic weapons. They claim to belong to a group called MEND, the Movement for the Emancipa-tion of the Niger Delta. In many photos the members wear stocking masks; in others, they have painted their faces and bodies white, partly in honor of ancient traditions and partly because they know it frightens oil field workers. In other pictures MEND members show their ostensible handiwork: pipelines and oil fields exploding in flames. The video notes correctly that Nigeria is second to Iraq as the most unstable

oil producer in the world. Words on the screen declare that since 1995, when the govern-ment executed

Ken Saro-Wiwa, an author and environmentalist who became a national hero for battling to end government cor-ruption, the Niger Delta has become “hell on earth,” a land devastated by industrial pollution and increasingly violent protests, followed by equally violent government retribu-tions—which many in the delta believe to be wholeheartedly supported by the oil companies that operate here.Members of MEND were the very people who kidnapped Russell Spell and eight co-workers and have since claimed responsibility for still more kidnappings and acts of sabotage. That same year—MEND’s first in operation—the organization and similar groups kidnapped 128 foreign nationals, shut down 25 percent of Nigeria’s oil production, and helped drive crude oil prices close to $80 a barrel, according to the Norwegian-based international security consultants Bergen Risk Solutions. Americans are less aware, however, that there is another reason why the price of oil has blown past $100 a barrel and gasoline is approaching $4 a gallon.

“ The cost of everything that can go wrong in a destabilized country rich in oil - gets figured into the price of every barrel. The cost of doing business in this dan-gerous world - a cost all of us pay at the gas pump - is called the risk premium. “

2008 // dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue ali-quet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros.

2010 // dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue ali-quet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros.

2011 // dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue ali-quet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros.

2009 // dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue ali-quet luctus ac non tellus. Nulla nibh eros, consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et velit. Sed quis viverra eros.

oil rates skyrocketA LOOK AT THE STEADY RISE OF COST DURING THE LAST 4 YEARS

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Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Morbi eget leo eu augue aliquet luctus ac non tel-lus. Consequat a gravida eu, mollis sit amet lorem. Aliquam elit libero, mattis ac posuere vitae, placerat et

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D A L L A S

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AREASOF HIGH COST

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