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| Series of attacks on oil facilities has led to the reduction of Nigeria's output. |
The attacks on oil and
gas facilities in the Niger Delta continued Thursday evening with the bombing
of a pipeline belonging to the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company, a
subsidiary of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The
Punch report continues:
Sources
told one of our correspondents that the incident happened at 7:40 pm around the
Shalomi Creek in Warri South-West Local Government Area of Delta State.
Multiple
security sources in the area confirmed the incident to one of our
correspondents at about 8:50 pm.
No
group, including the Niger Delta Avengers, which has claimed responsibility for
series of attacks on oil facilities in the past, has claimed responsibility for
Thursday’s incident.
The
commander, Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) Delta, Commodore Riami Mohammed, when
contacted at about 9:09 pm, denied knowledge of the incident. He promised to
investigate and get back to our correspondent but had yet to do so as of the
time of filing this report.
But
a senior military officer, who spoke on condition anonymity because he was not authorized
to speak on the issue, confirmed the development.
The
source said details of the incident were still sketchy due to the time it took
place.
The
Niger Delta Avengers had earlier on Thursday threatened to secede from the
country, saying that successive governments had been unfair to the people of
the Niger Delta region.
It
said that what the people of the Niger Delta had been asking for from
successive governments in Nigeria was the provision of basic amenities and
inclusiveness.
The
group called on the international community, especially Britain, France, United
States, Russia and China not to allow the region to go the way of Sudan.
In
a statement issued by its spokesperson, Murdoch Agbinibo, the NDA maintained
that all that successive governments wanted was the flow of crude oil from the
region and not its development.
It
vowed to remedy the age-long devastation against the region with every means
necessary.
It
said in the statement, “Since the amalgamation of Nigeria in 1914 to date, our
resources have been used to sustain the political administrative livewire of
Nigeria to the exclusion of the Niger Delta.
“Finally,
we are calling on the international community to come and support the
restoration of our right to peaceful self-determination from this tragedy of
1914 that has expired since 2014.
“We
want our resources back to restore the essence of human life in our region for
generations to come because Nigeria has failed to do that. The world should not
wait until we go the Sudan way. Enough is enough.
“This
history of terror, we the Niger Delta Avengers will resist and correct with
every means necessary. We have nothing to lose in the battle ahead.”
It
added, “Justice, they say, is only found within the structure of a nation
state; rather than provide justice, the Nigerian government has decided to mobilize
her military might to intimidate, torture, maim, victimize and bombard a
section of the nation and her citizenry to allow the free flow of our oil.
“Since
the day crude oil was discovered in commercial quantity and quality in Oloibiri
in the present day Bayelsa State, what we have being asking from successive
governments in Nigeria is potable drinking water, electricity, roads,
employment, quality education, resource control and inclusive governance.”
The
threat of secession came just as crude oil production in the country suffered
further threats with the Trans Niger Pipeline, one of two major pipelines
transporting the Bonny Light crude grade for export, being shut.
The
TNP, which is operated by Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria
Limited, was shut on Wednesday after a leak was found, a Shell spokesperson
told one of our correspondents on Thursday.
“We
are conducting a joint investigation visit comprising officials of the SPDC,
the regulators and the communities to determine the cause of the leak and the
volume affected,” he said.
One
source referring to a memo sent out to participants in the TNP said it was
expected to be down for at least a week and would see around 130,000 barrels
per day of production shut-in, according to Reuters.
The
shutdown comes just as repairs were completed on the Nembe Creek Trunk Line
that also moves the major export grade.
In
early May, force majeure, a legal clause that allows companies to cancel or
delay deliveries due to unforeseen circumstances, was declared by Royal Dutch
Shell on Bonny Light exports after the NCTL was closed.
The
TNP transports around 180,000 barrels of crude oil per day to the Bonny Export
Terminal and is part of the gas liquids evacuation infrastructure, critical for
continued domestic power generation at the Afam VI power plant, and liquefied gas
exports, Shell said on its website.
The
United States’ Energy Information Administration on Thursday said the massive
wildfire in Canada, militant attacks on oil facilities in Nigeria, political
strife in Libya and power outages complicated by bad weather in Iraq cut an
average of 3.6 million barrels of oil a day from the global crude supply in
May.
The
EIA said May’s unplanned disruptions were the largest since the agency began
tracking the date in 2011.
The
wildfire in Canada’s oil sands region knocked an average of 800,000 bpd out of
production, with a peak disruption of 1.1 million barrels. Production began
coming back online earlier this month.
Nigeria’s production averaged a drop of 800,000 bpd in May as militant attacks increased on oil and natural gas facilities. Production from the country fell to its lowest level since the 1980s, according to the EIA.
Foreign Refineries To Stop Buying Nigeria’s
Crude Oil As Militants Rebuff Dialogue
Niger
Delta Avengers, NDA, yesterday, scuttled the hope of early resolution of the
current spate of bombings in the Niger Delta, as it did not only reject the
window created for dialogue by the Federal Government, but also blew up another
Chevron Nigeria Limited, CNL, crude oil pipeline in Delta State.
This
came on a day indications emerged that Nigeria’s crude oil export may drop
further in the days ahead, as major refineries across the globe have concluded
plans to stop purchase of crude oil from Nigeria due to rising uncertainties
about the country meeting up with deliveries.
The
latest attack came as a bombshell to the governors of oil producing states, who
met, Tuesday, in Abuja with the Acting President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo,
service chiefs and other functionaries on how to end pipeline attacks in the troubled
region. Government had announced a two-week ceasefire on Monday to build
confidence in the militants for negotiation.
Militants
blow up another Chevron pipeline in Delta But in a tweet that blatantly negated
government’s goodwill, the militant group said yesterday: “This is to inform
the general public that we are not negotiating with any committee. If Federal
Government is discussing with any group, they’re doing that on their own.
“At
1:00 a.m today (Wednesday), the NDAvengers blew up Well RMP 20 belonging
to Chevron, located 20 metres from Dibi flow station in Warri North Local
Government Area.”
A
source familiar with the location told Vanguard, at about 5.45 a.m., that the
affected crude oil pipeline is between Opia and Dagbolo villages in Warri
North. Confirming the latest attack, a security source said: “Yes, there was an
attack this (Wednesday) morning by militants on a Chevron facility. “
The
pipeline had earlier been attacked by militants using the same modus operandi,
which is with the use of dynamite. The attack was carried out at about 1:00
a.m.”
According
to the Chevron staff, who spoke on condition of anonymity, the company will
draft a team of technicians to the spot to assess the extent of damage.
A
community source, who spoke to Vanguard shortly after a joint team of CNL,
soldiers and private security outfit visited the bombed site, said if the plan
of the militants had succeeded, the entire Dibi flow station, which had several
crude oil and gas components, would have been set ablaze.
At
last Tuesday’s meeting in Abuja, the governors allegedly made a compelling case
for the Federal Government to cease military operations in the area, which was
heating up the polity, and asked it to find a middle ground with the militants,
among other things.
Foreign
refineries to stop buying Nigeria’s crude oil The restive situation
in the region may lead to a further drop in crude oil export as major
refineries across the globe have concluded plans to stop the purchase of
the commodity from Nigeria due to rising uncertainties about the country
meeting up with deliveries.
This
is arising from the fact that a number of oil companies in Nigeria had declared
force majeure of crude oil export, while a few others had been forced to
suspend or cut production as a result of the bombing of oil facilities across
the Niger Delta.
According
to data obtained from Reuters, four of Nigeria’s oil grades, including the
largest stream, Qua Iboe, have been under force majeure over the last one
month. Force majeure is a legal clause that allows companies to cancel or delay
deliveries due to unforeseen circumstances.
The
report stated that despite the fact that ExxonMobil, which declared force
majeure on Qua Iboe in May due to an accident, lifted the declaration last
week, the unpredictability is too much for some buyers.
The
report further stated that refineries on the United States’ east coast were
beginning to turn away from Nigerian crude oil, noting that these same
refineries had been on a buying spree for Nigerian crude in recent months that
averaged 240,000 barrels per day (bpd) in April and May.
As
a result, the report said differentials to dated Brent for Qua Iboe, Bonny
Light and other grades were under downward pressure, adding that there
were several unsold cargoes for June loading.
According
to the report, the reduced demand means Nigeria is not benefiting as much as
others from a rebound in Brent crude prices at current rate of over US$51,
which is partly driven by its own oil outages, stating that the reluctance of
the refineries to buy Nigeria’s crude oil was limiting the prices Nigeria could
get for its oil, even as there was less of it.
Specifically,
the report stated that India’s HPCL was forced last month to cancel a vessel it
chartered to carry two million barrels of West African crude due to the Qua
Iboe force majeure, while India’s state-run Indian Oil Corporation Limited, a
major buyer of Nigerian grades over the past year, had stated in its recent
tenders that it would not take grades under force majeure, with Qua Iboe
remaining off the list of the company.
Indonesia’s
Pertamina, another frequent buyer, the report added, had also chosen not to buy
Nigerian grades in its recent tenders, favouring Congolese Coco, Angolan
Girassol and Saharan Blend from Algeria instead.
The
report quoted oil traders as saying that Pertamina had shifted its preferences
since the violence and uncertainty escalated, while Senior Vice President of
the company, Daniel Purba, said the company was monitoring Nigeria, but noted
that the situation was still currently not affecting crude purchasing.
Commenting
on the development, one oil trader on the US east coast said: “When you
plan your crude run months in advance and commit buying cargo, you need to be
comfortable that the cargo will be there when you go to lift.”
Similarly,
Elizabeth Donnelley, Assistant Head of the Africa Programme at Chatham House,
said: “The nature of the recently re-emerged militancy in the Niger Delta
suggests it is here to stay for the foreseeable future.”
Also
speaking, Olivier Jakob, Managing Director of PetroMatrix in Switzerland, said
“not everybody wants to be caught up in that, so they will avoid it. The
refineries will walk away from it.”
In
a similar development, senior economist at Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National
Corp, Takayuki Nogami, lamented, Wednesday, that the recent fall in the
Japanese oil market was a result of supply disruptions in Nigeria and Canada,
following the Niger Delta militant activities.
Nogami,
in a statement, pointed out that the Japanese economy was on the double at the
first quarter and was slow on consumer spending and weak exports which it experienced
lately.
According
to the statement, a downturn in the US crude inventories was noticed as the
company expressed concern over attacks on Nigeria’s oil industry.
Stakeholders
ask militants to dialogue However, Niger Delta activist, Ann Kio Briggs;
Ijaw community leader and Chief Favour Izuokumor advised the militant group to embrace
dialogue.
Militants
should embrace dialogue — Briggs
Niger
Delta activist, Ann Kio Briggs, who hailed the two-week ceasefire in a chat
with Vanguard before Avengers discarded government’s olive branch, said:
“Definitely, it is good news in the sense that in the search for some
individuals, they have gone into some communities, including their return to
Gbaramatu, despite claims that they had earlier pulled out.
“Therefore,
if truly the Federal Government is sincere in what it has said and if the
military would obey the Federal Government, because that is another thing,
then, of course, it is welcome news.
“If
you look at the whole bulk of the Niger Delta, the people have suffered
tremendously and you cannot deny the fact that there are a lot of issues on
ground about the injustice that the people of the region have suffered and this
injustice must be addressed.
“The
only way to address them is to make sure that the injustices are corrected and
to do this, the issues of fiscal federalism, ownership and the people being
able to develop themselves must be addressed.
“If
I was the government, the discussion should not be only with the Niger Delta,
but should also take this opportunity to reach out to the Middle Belt and other
regions who are agitating.”
Buhari
has shown commitment — Izuokumor
Activist
and Ijaw community leader, Chief Favour Izuokumor, who also hailed the
ceasefire, said it was a bold commitment by President Buhari and urged the
militants to take advantage of the window to dialogue.
Advising
government not to politicize the talks, he stressed the need to invest in the
intelligence arm of the nation’s security network to overcome current security
challenges facing Nigeria, particularly the resurgence of militancy in the
Niger Delta.
Izuokumor, spokesperson of Ogbe-ljoh/Warri
Kingdom, said: “As the Niger Delta Avengers has failed to toe the line of
negotiation, the Federal Government is expected to, without delay, begin to
match words with actions by calling all stakeholders and regional leaders to a
roundtable to dialogue on some pertinent issues as they affect the Niger Delta
people.”
Omare
denies sponsoring Avengers
Meanwhile,
a former Commissioner for Environment in Delta State, Chief Frank Omare, has
denied online report which fingered him of sponsoring the Avengers and
communal crisis between his community, Ogbe-Ijoh and Aladja.
In
a petition to the police, the former commissioner, said: “I wish to state
clearly and in unequivocal terms that I do not know any member of Niger Delta
Avengers.
I
am also not one of the sponsors of the Niger Delta Avengers, as I have no
reason to do so. “I also did not hold any meeting with members of the Niger
Delta Avengers or anybody whatsoever at Ogulaha or any other community on
how to attack and wipe out Aladja.
“In
the past seven years that I have been in the Delta State government, I have
used my position to promote peace and harmonious relationship between Ogbe-Ijoh
and Aladja.
“Former Governors James Ibori, Emmanuel Uduaghan and the present governor, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, can testify to this fact.”
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