Nse Anthony-Uko with Agency Report
ABUJA, (Sundiata Post) – A fresh attack has been reported on an oil facility operated by oil major, Shell.
Nigerian militants in the oil-producing Niger Delta on Saturday claimed it attacked a Shell-operated export pipeline, after halting hostilities last month in order to pursue talks with the government.
The military launched a new offensive in August against militants in the swampy region, which is laced with oil and gas infrastructure that is difficult to protect from attacks.
But the shadowy group calling itself the Niger Delta Avengers has said recently that it is open to dialogue with the government.
Formal talks have not yet been held, to the frustration of residents of the impoverished Delta, and may be derailed by the attack.
Community leaders in the region say it remains unclear whether President Muhammadu Buhari is committed to discussions to resolve the crisis, because he has not made statements to that effect or visited the Delta since taking office.
Attacks this year on oil installations in the the region claimed by the Avengers have cut Nigeria’s production to less than 1.4m barrels a day, nearly 40 per cent less than its recent peak.
The new militancy has raised fears of a return to the prolonged unrest witnessed in the 2006-09 uprising in the Delta.
The attack cut production at the “Bonny 48 inches crude oil export line,” the Avengers said in an online statement on Saturday, the authenticity of which was impossible to verify, according to report by AFP.
Shell declined to comment and there was no immediate statement the Nigerian government.
It comes just ahead of the anticipated restart of exports from the Shell-operated Forcados terminal.
Loadings from the facility in 2015 averaged 200,000 bpd but the terminal has been offline since an attack in February, claimed by the Avengers, on an underwater pipeline.
The statement yesterday said the group would resist action by the government to undermine the ceasefire.
During a meeting with the US president Barrack Obama, last. Week, Buhari suggested that a military push in the Delta was needed, according to three Western diplomatic and security sources in the Nigerian capital, Abuja, who were briefed on the meeting.
That message may have reached the Delta militants, leading them to attack again, said one of the sources.
The attack underlines how volatile Nigeria’s production remains as global markets watch it and Libya, the other OPEC producer where output has been disrupted in recent months.
The OPEC producers’ cartel is meeting in Algiers this week for discussions on the oil market, which is suffering its worst downturn in a decade.
Nigeria has been pumping less than Angola for months.