Nigerian oil output down by over 200,000 bpd after militant attack

Nigerian oil output was pushed back below 2 million b/d after militants attacked the Trans Forcados Pipeline earlier this week. EPA/STR photo.

Nigerian oil pipeline attack closes

By Julia Payne

LONDON, Nov 3 (Reuters) – Nigerian oil production has fallen by at least 200,000 barrels per day (b/d) since a militant attack forced the closure of the major Trans Forcados Pipeline (TFP) on Wednesday, industry sources said.

The attack pushes the west African country’s output back below 2 million b/d.

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Nigeria’s oil minister said on Tuesday that overall production had recovered to around 2.1 million b/d following months of attacks, mainly by the Niger Delta Avengers, on various oil installations that had cut output by over 600,000 b/d.

Local oil company Shoreline said its 35,000 b/d of output was shut as a result of the pipeline closure. Several other local producers link up to the TFP including London and Lagos listed Seplat.

Exports of Forcados that only just resumed in October are expected to continue at a reduced rate. Force majeure was imposed earlier this year after an attack on a sub-sea pipeline in February and had not yet been lifted.

The TFP is the main contributor to the Forcados stream. Another 100,000 b/d or so of production by oil major Shell’s local arm SPDC was still flowing to the terminal through other pipelines, one of the sources familiar with the matter said.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari met with leaders of the southern oil-producing Niger Delta region for the first time this week in a bid to negotiate an end to the new wave of militancy that began early this year.

The region’s population has felt disenfranchised for decades as it has benefited little from Nigeria’s vast oil wealth and has watched traditional livelihoods such as fishing decline due to pollution.

A previous wave of militancy ended with an amnesty in 2009.

(Reporting By Julia Payne; Editing by Susan Fenton and Alexandra Hudson)