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| Oil pipeline explosion |
Suspected militants have
bombed a state-run oil pipeline near the southern Nigerian oil hub of Warri in
the latest blow to the industry, a security source and community leader said
Wednesday.
AFP
report continues:
The
Trans Forcados export line was attacked late Tuesday, they said, just hours
after President Muhammadu Buhari met with representatives of militant groups in
the oil-rich Niger delta to discuss how to end the unrest plaguing the region.
No
group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.
“The
attack was carried out with the aid of dynamite and it is coming less than 48
hours after the resumption of operations at the flow station,” a security
official, who declined to be named, told AFP.
The
pipeline was attacked in July and had only resumed operation at the weekend
following repairs.
Dickson
Ogugu, chairman of Batan community where the pipeline is based, confirmed the
incident, saying a surveillance team had identified the site of the attack.
“The
entire river is flooded with contents from the damaged trunkline and we are at
the receiving end.”
The
line is operated by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and
receives crude from Batan near Warri.
Since
February, several militant groups have attacked oil facilities, slashing the nation’s
output and hammering revenues.
The
groups claim to be seeking a fairer share of Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar oil
wealth for residents of the region — as well as greater political autonomy.
Following
peace talks in Abuja chaired Tuesday by the president, minister of state for petroleum Ibe Emmanuel Kachikwu said the country’s oil production was returning to normal.
“The
reality is that as of today and this morning, we are at 2.1 million barrels
production. That’s substantial,” he said, adding that efforts to secure peace
were succeeding.
Nigeria normally produces
around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), but output dropped to a low of 1.4
bpd this year due to rebel attacks.
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