Nigeria: ExxonMobil, Shell Resume Production

allAfrica.com: Nigeria: ExxonMobil, Shell Resume Production

This Day (Lagos)
7 May 2008
Fidelia Okwuonu With Agency Report
Lagos

After an eight-day strike, ExxonMobil has returned its oil production output in Nigeria to normal operating levels, while Shell plans to kick off a partial resumption of production after it shut down operations following militant attacks.

Shell said it would resume”within days”.

According to the company, “We are pleased to report that production operated by ExxonMobil upstream affiliates in Nigeria has been restored to pre-shut in levels,”

The strike by members of the Petroleum and Gas Workers Union (PENGASSAN) shut in virtually all of ExxonMobil’s 800,000 barrels per day output, forcing the US supermajor to declare force majeure on its shipments at the start of last week.

Although the company has not been able to confirm if it has lifted the force majeure following the end of the strike last week but however, the company is still in talks with the union over salary increases.

A spokesman for Shell said its production in Nigeria was still down by about 164,000 bpd due to recent militant attacks but it would start to partly restore that “within days”.

According to the spokesman, the Saturday attack by Niger Delta militants, which blew up an oil flow station in the southern state of Bayelsa was “not a severe incident” and had little impact on production.

Meanwhile, oil price has set new record as it hit $122 a barrel yesterday, as the market was driven by concerns over violence in key producer Nigeria and a struggling US currency, analysts said.

After spiking to a fresh high, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, pulled back to stand at $121.65 per barrel, still up $1.68 from Monday’s close.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for June also reached an all-time high, at $120.41, before slipping back to $120.07 for a gain of $1.94.

The latest records beat all-time highs set earlier Tuesday. “Market headlines are dominated by the impact of currency fluctuations, geopolitics in the form of actual and potential threats to supply in Nigeria, Iraq and Iran, plus better-than-expected recent US economic data,” said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.

After an eight-day strike, ExxonMobil has returned its oil production output in Nigeria to normal operating levels, while Shell plans to kick off a partial resumption of production after it shut down operations following militant attacks Shell said it would resume”within days”.

According to the company, “We are pleased to report that production operated by ExxonMobil upstream affiliates in Nigeria has been restored to pre-shut in levels,”

The strike by members of the Petroleum and Gas Workers Union (PENGASSAN) shut in virtually all of ExxonMobil’s 800,000 barrels per day output, forcing the US supermajor to declare force majeure on its shipments at the start of last week.

Although the company has not been able to confirm if it has lifted the force majeure following the end of the strike last week but however, the company is still in talks with the union over salary increases.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Shell said its production in Nigeria was still down by about 164,000 bpd due to recent militant attacks but it would start to partly restore that “within days”.

According to the spokesman, the Saturday attack by Niger Delta militants, which blew up an oil flow station in the southern state of Bayelsa was “not a severe incident” and had little impact on production.

Meanwhile, oil price has set new record as it hit $122 dollar a barrel yesterday, as the market was driven by concerns over violence in key producer Nigeria and a struggling US currency, analysts said.

After spiking to a fresh high, New York’s main oil futures contract, light sweet crude for June delivery, pulled back to stand at $121.65 per barrel, still up $1.68 from Monday’s close.

London’s Brent North Sea crude for June also reached an all-time high, at $120.41, before slipping back to $120.07 for a gain of $1.94.

The latest records beat all-time highs set earlier Tuesday. “Market headlines are dominated by the impact of currency fluctuations, geopolitics in the form of actual and potential threats to supply in Nigeria, Iraq and Iran, plus better-than-expected recent US economic data,” said Barclays Capital analyst Kevin Norrish.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200805070163.html

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